Microsoft is making Windows 11’s Phone Link integration a little more determined to keep you from reaching for your phone. In the latest Beta Channel preview, the company is adding a way to preview recent messages and notifications directly from the Start menu.

The change arrives with Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26220.9568, where the Phone Link companion experience in Start gets an upgraded Recent section. Instead of simply showing recent activity, you can now hover over a recent message or notification to see a preview of its content without opening the item or picking up your phone.

It is a small change, but it fits neatly into Microsoft’s larger attempt to make the Windows PC a second home for everything happening on your phone. Need to know whether that notification is actually worth your attention? Just hover over it. Message came in? Peek at it from Start. Phone remains safely on the other side of the desk.

And honestly, the timing is funny. AI gadgets are increasingly trying to convince us that we should spend less time staring at our phones, while Microsoft is over here saying, “What if you could just stare at your phone… through Windows?”

The enhanced Phone Link experience is rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Beta Channel and requires Phone Link version 1.26021.3.0 or newer. Microsoft says the setting can be managed under Phone Link > Settings > Start menu personalization.

As with Microsoft’s other Insider experiments, this isn’t a guarantee that the feature will eventually ship to the stable version of Windows 11. Microsoft notes that features in preview builds can change, be removed, or never make it beyond the Insider program.