Microsoft is forcing Edge users on Windows with a spyware-like installation

If I told you that the entire screen of my computer has just been taken by a new application that I never installed or ordered – it just magically appeared on my desktop, my taskbar, and pre-empted my next website launch – you’d probably tell me to run a virus scanner and stay away from suspicious websites, right?

But the incredibly intrusive app I’m talking about is not a piece of ransomware. It is Microsoft’s new Chromium Edge browser, which the company is now forcing users through an automatic Windows update.

Seriously, when I restarted my Windows 10 desktop this week, an app I had never asked for:

1. Immediately launched
2. I tried to convince myself to migrate away from Chrome, which didn’t give me a discernible way to click or say no
3. Looked at my desktop and taskbar
4. I was ignoring my previous browser preference by asking me, next time I launched a website, if I was sure I wanted to use Chrome instead of Microsoft’s humble recommendation.

Did I mention that as of this update you can no longer uninstall Edge?

It all made me think immediately: what would the antitrust enforcers of the 1990s, who punished Microsoft for combining Internet Explorer with Windows, think about this modern abuse of the Microsoft platform?

But most of all, I’m surprised that Microsoft shot itself in the foot by leaning so low, using tactics I’ve only seen from adware, spyware, and ransomware providers. By the way, I installed this copy of Windows with a disk that I bought. Maybe I’m outdated, but I like to think I still have my desk and decide what to put there.

That’s especially I imagine that the owners of Windows 7 and Windows 8 are also getting unwanted gift copies of the new Edge right now:

And I’m not surprised that some angry Windows users are already criticizing the fact that this was part of a forced Windows update, which Microsoft has already had a hard time justifying without invading people’s desktops. It will be more difficult to buy the argument that forced updates are necessary for security when they are double-duty as an intrusive marketing tool.

Heck, we can’t even get Americans to wear life-saving masks in public right now.

Microsoft isn’t trying to hide most of this, by the way: it presents the so-called “First Run Experience” in this update change log. So I thought to see if the company could say more. Here is a list of questions I sent to Microsoft, which the company refused to answer substantially in the registry or in the background:

• What was the purpose and reasoning here?
• Why does Microsoft feel this is appropriate?
• Was it a success and, if so, with what metric?
• What does Microsoft telemetry show that users are doing in response to being confronted with Edge pins, desktop icons, auto-start, and resetting default apps?
• Would Microsoft do this again?
• Will Microsoft stop this now and / or change something about this update?
• What is Microsoft’s philosophy in designing dark pattern software?

The only justifications the company could provide me with are that, technically, the new Edge is replacing the old Edge that already comes with Windows 10; Microsoft wants you to use the best and safest version of your browser; And you can still say no, although in this case, a “no” implies the forced shutdown of Edge, reaffirming your default browser choice and having to spend a minute removing unwanted junk on your desktop.

Here’s one more question: Microsoft, do you think this behavior makes Windows users really want to try Edge?

Because, to be honest, after the initial shock disappeared, I found Edge to be fairly easy to ignore. The experience mostly just left a bad taste in the mouth.

Before, I was really interested in this new version of Edge based on Chromium! I had planned to take a look at it. I’ve been playing with Firefox and Opera for weeks, considering a possible migration out of Chrome.

Now as a user, not a journalist, I can’t help feeling that I should ignore Edge on principle. And if there is a sizable fraction of users who feel the same way, someone within Microsoft is working hard right now.