Microsoft’s Edge browser is undoubtedly a good browser, and Microsoft has invested a lot of time and money to compete with Chrome. However, Microsoft has once again been caught using its position as the publisher of Windows to force users onto its first-party browser, Edge. These aggressive tactics are making Windows worse, not better.
KB5025221 Windows update
Recently, some Windows users found that whenever they opened Chrome, the Windows default app settings window would also open. Every time the users clicked a link in the browser with Chrome set as the default, the window would open. The KB5025221 Windows update caused the problem. It was released in April. The update broke Chrome’s one-click option to change the default browser. Renaming the Chrome executable fixed the issue. This indicates that Microsoft’s update aimed at Chrome’s default button behavior.
Forcing Links to Open in Edge
Microsoft announced a new update for the desktop versions of Outlook and Teams that will make links open in the Edge browser, even if the user has assigned another browser as their default setting. This is a blatant abuse of Microsoft’s position as the publisher of Windows and its associated tools. It’s also blatantly ignoring Windows users’ ability to set custom app associations with files and links.
Pushing Edge with Passive-Aggressive Tactics
Pushing Edge on users with passive-aggressive tactics is nothing new for Microsoft. The Settings menu for apps still begs users to try Edge the first time they change the default browser. Making web searches from the Start menu will ignore the default browser setting if it isn’t Edge. Edge still periodically nags users to change their default browser when they open it, even though Microsoft has intentionally hamstrung Chrome’s ability to do the same thing.
Irony in the Latest Attempts to Push Edge
There’s a certain irony in Microsoft’s latest attempts to push Edge on users, just a few weeks after a Microsoft representative said that they would take steps to mitigate unrequested modifications to a user’s choices. Additionally, Edge was caught sending user traffic data to Bing, an alleged bug that Microsoft patched quickly. However, this did give a black eye to the company’s boasts of security and privacy on the browser’s promotional page.
Conclusion
Edge has only 10.95% of the desktop browser market, even less than Apple’s Safari as of this month. It’s clear that no amount of manipulative tricks are going to force Windows users off their preferred browser. Therefore, it would be wise for Microsoft to stop trying to push Edge on users and focus on improving the browser itself. As Michael Crider said, “You’re not making Edge better, you’re just making Windows worse.” Read About Passwordless login Here By Google .