Microsoft will soon allow users in the European Union, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway to open all links to Windows using their default browser, and not forcibly use the Edge browser.
According to a report by the company, when the preliminary assembly of Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 23531 for the DEV channel is released, links from Windows system applications will no longer open using Microsoft Edge, ignoring the default browser selected by the user. This change was announced on Friday.
Although this may seem insignificant for many, the forced promotion of the Edge browser to the detriment of other browsers has been annoying many Windows users. Examples of this behavior can be seen when using the Web Poisian in the Start menu and clicking on any result. However, there are many more actions that can lead to this annoying result.
Windows 10 and 11 have included many functions that display links on the Internet, such as reference articles in the Windows system settings and applications, and search results in the Start menu. Previously, when clicking on these built-in links, Windows would forcibly open them in Microsoft Edge, disregarding the default browser.
Earlier this year, the company confirmed that web links from Outlook letters and Teams chats would also be opened in Edge “to improve and optimize the use of products”.
The imposition of Microsoft Edge on Windows 11 users has annoyed some people to the extent that they have created special tools, like EdgedEflector, designed to replace all the “Microsoft://” links used in Microsoft applications and throughout the OS shell with “https://” links, which are then opened using the default browser.
However, Microsoft has noticed these attempts and made changes to the OS, rendering this solution ineffective in the latest versions of Windows 10 and 11.
So far, Microsoft has not explained why only European users are allowed to open all links in their systems using the default browser, while users from other regions have to continue accepting the controversial policy of the company. It is possible that this decision is related to local legislation or that these countries were chosen as a control group for testing the function.
While the news was received favorably by users in Europe, Windows users from other countries are now even more disappointed in Microsoft’s decision-making policy.
“How can I make Windows 11 think that I am from the EU?” asked one internet user in a discussion about this innovation from Microsoft. In response, it was suggested that if one has to resort to tricks to make the system work properly, perhaps it