Microsoft will finally stop shoving Edge down your throat, on one condition

Avid Windows users must be familiar with the dirty tactics Microsoft employs to push its Edge browser. It's a song as old as time; remember when Internet Explorer was primarily used as a tool to download Chrome or Firefox because it was the only thing available? Shortly after IE died, Edge inherited that legacy, becoming the browser you often had to use just to get the browser you actually wanted. Even Microsoft knows this:

For years, we have endured the relentless pop-ups after updates, third parties being blocked from changing the default browser on Windows 11, banners appearing when you dare visit a competitor's download page, a fake "how to uninstall Edge" guide, and links within Windows apps that just had to open in Edge, regardless of your set preferences.

Microsoft has announced it is dialing back some of this aggressive behavior, promising a reprieve from the constant Edge bombardment. But (and it's a pretty big but) this only applies if you're in the EEA. This shift isn't Microsoft suddenly having a profound change of heart and deciding to respect user choice out of the goodness of its heart. No, this is all thanks to the Digital Markets Act, a major EU rule that targets big online platforms, what they call "gatekeepers", because these companies have a huge impact on how the digital market works.

So, what is actually changing for users in the EEA? For starters, Microsoft Edge will not prompt you to set it as the default browser unless you actually open it directly, like by clicking its icon on the taskbar. This specific change started rolling out with Edge version 137.0.3296.52.

Other Microsoft apps will also stop bugging you to reinstall Edge if you dared to remove it, with updates for this rolling out in June to Windows 10 and 11. And speaking of default browsers, this is where a significant improvement lies. Previously, hitting "Set default" for your browser in Windows was half baked, only grabbing basic web links like http and https and HTML files. Now, if you're in the EEA, setting your default browser will also cover more obscure link types like ftp and "read," plus a wider array of web-related file formats such as .mht, .svg, .xml, and even .pdf files, provided your chosen browser says it can handle them.

The Bing app and those Windows Widgets, which previously had a nasty habit of ignoring your browser choice, will also start opening web links in your default browser. Hallelujah. Users in the EEA will also gain the ability to uninstall the Microsoft Store entirely later this year, though apps previously installed from it will still receive updates.

Windows Search is also getting an upgrade in the EEA. Right now, searching from the taskbar mostly just sends you to Bing, no matter what browser you use. But for users in the EEA, other apps will be able to plug into Windows Search and show web results too.

If an app registers as a web search provider, it'll start working as soon as you install it. You'll also be able to see results from multiple providers in the search interface, not just Bing. The usual scoping tabs will still be there if you want to filter things, but the default view will be more varied. And yes, you'll even be able to reorder the providers in Settings.

These changes are already in Windows Insider builds and are expected to roll out to Windows 10 and 11 in early June.

Source

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