Windows still nudges users toward Edge, report says

A Mozilla-commissioned report says Microsoft is still using design tactics in Windows to push people toward Edge, and that the behavior varies by region depending on regulation.

The report, Over The Edge 2.0, was published earlier this week and examined Microsoft’s browser-related behavior in Germany as a stand-in for the European Economic Area (EEA), plus India, the UK, and the US. Its conclusion was blunt: “Microsoft still does not allow users to download, set as the default, or keep using alternative browsers without harmful interference.”

According to the report, that interference includes an “All you need is right here” banner in Bing when users try to download rival browsers, pre-pinning Edge to the Windows taskbar, and wording the authors say could mislead users into making Edge their default browser. The researchers also flagged Copilot, saying it ignores the default browser when opening links, while Copilot data-sharing toggles are preselected to ON in the US and India.

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The report says the picture changes inside the EEA, where Microsoft has already been forced to alter some behavior. It says the Bing banner does not appear there, there is no injected Edge banner on the Chrome download page, and Windows Search does not automatically use Edge instead of the default browser.

The Browser Choice Alliance backed the findings and criticized what it called manipulative tactics.

“The researchers' findings in 'Over the Edge 2.0' reveal how Microsoft continues to use manipulative tactics to push users toward Edge, limiting users' ability to choose and run their chosen browser.” “The report demonstrates how Microsoft deploys harmful patterns against users on Windows 11 devices at a global scale. We call on Microsoft to respect its users and stop using the Windows ecosystem to steer users toward its own browser in ways that restrict user choice, undermine web freedom, and unfairly tilt the playing field away from fair competition and innovation.”

Vivaldi’s Technical Communications Officer Bruce Lawson also criticized the alleged practices.

“We’re glad Mozilla’s independent researchers confirm what we’ve been telling regulators for years … Microsoft is very reluctant to compete on the merits of its own browser product, so abuses its dominance of the Windows ecosystem to manipulate users.” “The threat of scrutiny in EU means that it’s not quite so bad in Europe, but it’s still not a level playing field — and we continue to urge the UK, Australian and Japanese regulators to step in and make their markets fair. Vivaldi will be happy to co-pilot the code changes need, to avoid Microsoft having any unfortunate Copilot involvement.” “We know how 'well' those projects turn out.”

The Register said it approached Microsoft for comment, but the company did not respond.

Edge market share and Firefox growth

The report’s claims land against a mixed market-share picture. Statcounter, which The Register describes as tracking more than one million websites globally and recording billions of page views, shows Edge at just over 10 percent, down from 13 percent in June 2025.

Firefox rose to 6.44 percent from 5.84 percent a year earlier. Still, Mozilla argued that Windows is the market that matters here, and said the report’s authors noted that Edge was the only browser to gain share on Windows over the last two years.

A Mozilla spokesperson told The Register:

“Firefox is competing hard and growing on many platforms, but looking specifically at Edge market share on Windows — which is the relevant market — the researchers note that Edge was the only browser to gain share on Windows over the last two years. This led the authors to say (on page 10 of the report): 'We hypothesise that previous harmful patterns have played a role in this growth.'”