I haven't seen any ads in Windows 10. Is that a special version?

They exist in the free version of Windows 10 (without a serial key). They're embedded in all sorts of places, including Solitaire.

Not only in the free version.

I have a licensed Windows 10 at home installed from scratch, ISO downloaded from Microsoft. Before configuring it, yes, it had ads in it.

You have never seen the messages on the lockscreen or the preinstalled windows store apps in the start menu?

I've never seen ads on the lockscreen- and pre-installed crapware has been with us forever. I'm on home edition- it came with the laptop (toshiba satellite, for completeness)

To be clear if your lockscreen is the changing pictures there are messages on those that are "ads" in the sense that they can take you to promoted sites. Same with the built in Windows search. If web search is not disabled anything not found on your computer launches a bing search which like google search as results as ads.

Oh the text that when I click it searches for something like "grand teton national park wyoming".

I guess that's technically an ad, but my goodness it that the least intrusive ad I've ever seen. Wish all ads were like that.

It is nothing like the pop ups and pop unders of yore but still, you pay a license to use the operating system. There should be zero ads.

Agreed. I guess I just never clicked anything so didn't notice.

The crapware installation was never built into the OS before. That makes a difference.