Microsoft Edge’s Latest Unwanted Alert: Understanding Windows’ New Popup Feature

Microsoft really wants you to use its Edge web browser, and the company is always looking for new ways to bug you about it. Now there’s a brand new popup that appears when opening Edge on Windows.

There’s a new popup rolling out in Microsoft Edge that appears when the browser is opened and isn’t the current default browser—for example, when opening a PDF or selecting a link in the Start Menu search. The popup asks you to switch your default browser setting to Microsoft Edge with a snazzy new animation. It doesn’t seem to appear in Edge on Mac or Linux, only Windows.

The popup suggests using “Microsoft recommended browser settings,” and says, “Microsoft Edge helps you stay protected while you browse by blocking phishing and malware attacks.” If you click the main button, Edge opens the Windows settings for changing the default web browser. In typical Microsoft interface design fashion, the only options on the popup are “Confirm” or “Set later.” Edge will ask you again.

Microsoft has pushed its Edge browser with aggressive advertising and popups on both Windows 10 and Windows 11. The browser is also opened automatically when opening a link in the Start Menu, help links in other Microsoft applications, widgets in the widget panel, or certain files in the File Explorer (like PDFs). Microsoft isn’t allowed to do all of that in the European Union anymore , as it violated the EU’s Digital Markets Act, but it’s still happening in the United States and other regions without similar legislation.

Windows 11 no longer allows applications to change the default browser on their own—they can open the Settings panel that shows the button, but you have to click the button yourself. That change was implemented last year , alongside confirmation prompts that appear when an app is pinned to the taskbar or adds a new shortcut to the desktop.

Microsoft has used the same “recommended settings” descriptor for years to convince people to use Edge, since it’s less clear about the result as “default browser.” This new popup is just another example of the dark UI patterns that are leading more people to stay on Windows 10 , or even switch to Linux or Mac.

Source: Windows Latest