- Microsoft is testing a new banner notification in Edge
- Its purpose is to stop people from downloading Google Chrome
- The announcement highlights Edge’s security features
Microsoft appears to be getting even tougher in its attempts to stop Windows 11 users from downloading Google Chrome, with a new pop-up appearing for some people in Edge, Microsoft’s rival internet browser, trying to convince people to stick with its product by touting its security features.
As Windows Report… uh… reports, a new banner has appeared for some Windows 11 users who use the default Edge browser to go to Google’s Chrome download page. The new pop-up suggests you can “Protect your privacy and security with Microsoft Edge,” then highlights private browsing, password monitoring, and advanced threat defense as reasons you’ll want to stick with Edge.
If you click the ‘Browse Safely Now’ button, Edge will open a page from Microsoft’s website that goes into further detail about the browser’s online security features.
Old game, new rules
This isn’t the first time Microsoft has used tactics like this to try to convince people to stick with Edge. Many people, myself included, who get a new Windows 11 PC will often open Edge for the first and last time just to download Chrome. Despite having the advantage of being pre-installed in Windows 11, Edge remains a rather unloved web browser, and we recently reported on how it actually is lost users with only 10.37% of the web browser market compared to Chrome’s 73.81% share.
This is clearly frustrating for Microsoft, which to be fair has been working hard to improve Edge, hence the new push to keep people using its web browser. What’s notable about its latest rant is that it focuses on online security and how sticking with Edge can increase your security.
While I don’t agree with its methods (more on that in a bit), I think this is a smart decision by Microsoft. Previous pop-ups leaned more on how Edge compares to Chrome, highlighting the fact that they both use the same Chromium web engine (which powers the browsers). I don’t think many regular Windows 11 users care about web engines, and trying to win over users by saying how similar your product is to your main competitor’s isn’t a terribly exciting way to sell anything.
Online security is a much bigger concern for many people, so I can see the logic of shifting focus like this – but will it do anything to stem the tide of Windows 11 users ditching Edge for Chrome? I don’t think so.
For once, I want Microsoft to copy Apple
I have become increasingly frustrated with Microsoft’s attempts to prevent me from using Chrome on my Windows 11 laptop. While Chrome is far from perfect, and I have my own reservations about Google as a company, there is a reason why I (and millions of others) want to use Chrome over other web browsers.
So when I load up Edge on a new PC or fresh install of Windows 11 and type ‘Chrome’ into the Bing search engine, it’s not an error and I don’t appreciate Microsoft putting up a big ‘Everything you need is right here’ banner saying ‘Microsoft Edge runs on the same technology as Chrome, with the added trust of Microsoft’ actually looking for the page that appears above the page.
Putting aside the fact that ‘with the added confidence of Microsoft’ is nonsense (what does that even mean and how could you quantify it?), it seems desperate. The fact that another pop-up appears when you finally get to the Chrome download page only deepens that sense of desperation and ironically makes me even more determined to install Chrome and never go back to Edge, no matter how good the browser is these days.
The thing is, I do the exact same thing when I review a new Mac device. I open Safari, Apple’s default web browser, and go to the Chrome download page and install Google’s web browser. The difference is that Apple doesn’t nag me to stick with Safari – there are no annoying pop-ups or messages asking me to stay, and it’s also very easy to change the default web browser to Safari in macOS, unlike in Windows 11.
The results are the same – I’m ditching the built-in web browser for Chrome – but I don’t feel irritated and irritated by Apple compared to Microsoft’s attempt.
So while I understand Microsoft’s shift to talking about online security, the fact that it still uses heavy-handed methods and leverages its advantage by having Edge and its search engine Bing, by default, continues to annoy me.
That’s before I even get to the fact that some of the features Microsoft hypes up, such as InPrivate browsing, password monitoring, and malicious content blocking, are also available in Chrome and other web browsers.
Currently, this new pop-up appears to be in testing by Microsoft, so you may not see it if you try to download Chrome. But if it succeeds, be prepared to see it pop up more often.
But what if, as I suspect, it doesn’t succeed in getting people to stop using Edge just to install Chrome? Instead of treating its users like adults and going the Apple way, I fear that Microsoft will become even more aggressive with its nagging. Let’s hope I’m wrong.
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