A hot potato: Microsoft has been more aggressive than usual in its efforts to push people onto Edge, and now it's taking things a step further by using popups that throw shade at its browser rival whenever someone visits the Chrome download page.
Neowin reports that when someone attempts to download Chrome from within Edge, they’re met with several popups extolling the virtues of Microsoft’s browser over Google’s. “Microsoft Edge runs on the same technology as Chrome, with the added trust of Microsoft,” reads one.
Another popup states, “That browser is so 2008! Do you know what’s new? Microsoft Edge,” which has a bit of a ‘How do you do, fellow kids’ feel to it. “‘I hate saving money,’ said no one ever. Microsoft Edge is the best browser for online shopping,” reads another.
Not everyone is seeing these messages—this writer didn’t—but there are plenty of reports of them being encountered by Windows 11 and Windows 10 users. They’re native to Microsoft's browser, unlike similar messages Google shows within web pages that try to encourage Edge users to switch to Chrome.
News of the popups comes just after Microsoft integrated a buy now, pay later app into Edge, which prompted the kind of response from users one would expect. The Redmond company recently faced criticism over making the switch from Edge to another browser more difficult in Windows 11. There was also the tool that redirected Edge links in Windows 11 that Microsoft blocked.
Google isn’t a stranger to using these sorts of tactics, either. In addition to the aforementioned ‘Google recommends using Chrome’ prompts, last year it showed a message that read “Google recommends switching to Chrome to use extensions securely” whenever Edge users visited the Chrome Web Store, though it was quickly removed.
https://www.techspot.com/news/92472-microsoft-tells-people-trying-download-o-2008-chrome.html
