Microsoft Edge is trying to forcefully get your Chrome tabs again

Earlier this twelvemonth Microsoft’s Edge browser automatically started up connected my PC and imported my Chrome tabs without consent. Microsoft refused to explicate wherefore this behaviour had occurred, and past quietly addressed the occupation successful a Microsoft Edge update. Microsoft hasn’t fixed up connected trying to get your Chrome information though, arsenic a caller update is rolling retired that automatically starts Edge and offers to import your Chrome tabs.

My workfellow Richard Lawler noticed that Edge started automatically connected his PC past week astatine footwear and offered up a caller punctual to “enhance your browsing experience.” The pop-up has a “bring implicit your information from different browsers regularly” enactment ticked by default, and encourages radical to corroborate and proceed with a large bluish button. If you privation to disregard this punctual there’s a tiny achromatic X fastener that looks akin to the sparkles Microsoft is utilizing successful the inheritance of the prompt.

If you simply deed corroborate and proceed past Microsoft Edge volition import your Chrome information and continually import your tabs if you person Chrome acceptable arsenic default. The punctual seems to chiefly look connected PCs with Chrome installed, suggesting that Microsoft is erstwhile again targeting Chrome users.

Microsoft confirmed the caller “feature” to The Verge. “This is simply a notification giving radical the prime to import information from different browsers,” explains Microsoft spokesperson Caitlin Roulston. “There is an enactment to crook it off.”

So Microsoft intelligibly isn’t bothered that it’s automatically starting up Edge connected people’s PC and past trying to instrumentality them into importing their Chrome data. That’s not excessively astonishing though since Microsoft has been pulling tricks similar this for much than 4 years now.

Shortly aft releasing its Chromium-based mentation of Edge successful 2020, Microsoft started launching Edge automatically connected people’s PCs successful an effort to migrate them distant from Chrome. Microsoft past blocked the EdgeDeflector tool to unit Windows 11 users into Edge, started using prompts to halt radical downloading Chrome, and made it truly difficult to power browser defaults successful Windows 11.

Microsoft’s behaviour present makes galore radical distrust Edge, Windows 11, and adjacent the company’s AI efforts. The controversy astir Recall should beryllium a aftermath up awesome to Microsoft that its Edge pop-ups successful Windows 11 volition marque it hard for consumers to spot what it’s doing with AI integration into Windows.