A hot potato: It's no secret that when it comes to pushing its Edge browser onto users, Microsoft isn't afraid to play dirty. There have been numerous stories about the aggressive tactics the company uses, and other browser makers aren't happy about it. Now, a new report dives into the "dark patterns" Microsoft adopts to get more people onto Edge.
The Browser Choice Alliance (BCA), a group of browser makers advocating fair competition and freedom to choose a browser, commissioned the report, which was produced by the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT).
The report maps any harm to users from Microsoft's PC browser choice practices, focusing on dark patterns that are used by the company.
For those unfamiliar, dark patterns are designs that steer people into choices they wouldn't otherwise make, such as hiding a decline button or making cancellation difficult.
BIT identified 10 dark patterns that it said make it harder to choose a browser other than Edge or subvert a user's choice of an alternative browser after that decision has already been made. These are:
1. Pushing Edge ads when you search for rival browsers: Banners try to talk you out of downloading another browser and steer you back to Edge.
2. Making the switch incomplete: Setting another browser as your default still leaves files like PDFs assigned to Edge, requiring more changes.
3. Restricting alternatives through Windows S mode: Users have to leave the restricted mode before they can install competing browsers.
4. Ignoring your choice in Windows Search: Web results open in Edge even when you've chosen another default browser.
5. Sending Widgets and lock-screen links to Edge: These parts of Windows bypass your preferred browser, too.
6. Forcing News and Interests links into Edge: Clicking stories in Windows 10's news feed opens Microsoft's browser instead of your chosen one.
7. Giving Outlook and Teams separate browser settings: Links can open in Edge unless you change settings inside those apps as well.
8. Blocking tools that help you avoid Edge: Microsoft has blocked workarounds that redirect Edge-only links to your preferred browser.
9. Pulling another browser's tabs into Edge: The report describes tabs from competing browsers reopening in Edge when you sign in.
10. Pushing you back toward Edge after updates: "Recommended settings" prompts make accepting Microsoft's browser settings easier than keeping your own.
BIT also identified practices that make Edge seem easier to use and safer than rival browsers, potentially without supporting evidence, including blocking its removal and showing strong safety warnings when users leave S mode.
Source: StatCounter Global Stats - Browser Market Share
The report concludes that Microsoft's tactics work together to make switching away from Edge harder and sticking with another browser more frustrating. It says this undermines user choice, wastes time and particularly affects people without a strong browser preference.
European users face fewer barriers, but the problems haven't disappeared. In 2025, Microsoft said it had stopped nagging users in the European Economic Area to set Edge as their default browser as part of its compliance with the Digital Markets Act.
This isn't the first time BCA has called out Microsoft over Edge. It sent a letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella in June demanding it stop burying rival browsers.