Microsoft Edge pop-up warning
Chrome and Firefox were popular browsers back when Windows 10 was launched. Later, Microsoft also redesigned the browser by using Chrome's open source engine, and the new Edge became even more attractive. But it seems that Microsoft is not satisfied with this and has been trying to get users to use its new Edge browser recently. Now, in the stable versions of Windows 11 and Microsoft Edge, some users are finding a pop-up warning that tries to prevent them from downloading Chrome.
The message reads, "Microsoft Edge runs on the same technology as Chrome, with the added trust of Microsoft." It also includes a button called "Browser securely now," which redirects users to a web page that highlights Edge's performance, security and other benefits over other browsers.
This message pops up in the stable version of Edge for users who use any search engine to access Chrome download pages. Users who try to install Firefox, Vivaldi or Opera will not receive the same alert.
Of course, the new pop-up warning for Windows 11 can't really stop users from installing Chrome, but the message is apparently meant to convince users not to try Chrome, which is less secure than Edge (according to Microsoft). This may be seen by some as misleading, since both browsers use the same underlying technology.
Interestingly, this pop-up tip for Microsoft Edge is currently unique to Windows 11, so Windows 10 users won't see this alert, at least not yet.
While Microsoft's current approach may seem a bit "unethical," Google, its competitor, has actually used similar tactics in its browser marketing and competition.
Back in early 2020, Forbes published a story about Google quietly updating its Chrome Web Store with a security alert as a way to warn Edge users to switch to Chrome.
The report mentioned that Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge are both built on the same Chrome platform, and that the battle between the two browsers has now become a marketing war, with security becoming their competitive advantage.
The report cites a report released by Windows at the time that showed Google was found to be "abusing user agent" identification code that allowed websites to automatically identify browser types and versions, detecting and warning Microsoft Edge users visiting the Chrome Web Store that they should switch to Chrome when it comes to extensions.
The reason for the warning from Google Chrome is that Microsoft Edge is not integrated with Google's secure browsing protection for threat elimination, so Google cannot protect users in the same way when extensions are at risk. And for Microsoft, this would put them at a disadvantage on Chrome and other browser platforms unless secure browsing integration was in place.
So even now, the "Switch to Chrome" ads still appear whenever we access services like Google Search, Gmail, or Drive.
For users, these pop-up warnings are annoying, regardless of their historical origins. Hopefully, Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge will cooperate to solve this problem in the end.