Microsoft Edge is trying to forcefully get your Chrome tabs again

Earlier this year Microsoft’s Edge browser automatically started up on my PC and imported my Chrome tabs without consent. Microsoft refused to explain why this behavior had occurred, and then quietly addressed the problem in a Microsoft Edge update. Microsoft hasn’t given up on trying to get your Chrome data though, as a new update is rolling out that automatically starts Edge and offers to import your Chrome tabs.

My colleague Richard Lawler noticed that Edge started automatically on his PC last week at boot and offered up a new prompt to “enhance your browsing experience.” The pop-up has a “bring over your data from other browsers regularly” option ticked by default, and encourages people to confirm and continue with a big blue button. If you want to dismiss this prompt there’s a tiny white X button that looks similar to the sparkles Microsoft is using in the background of the prompt.

Screenshot by Richard Lawler / The Verge

If you simply hit confirm and continue then Microsoft Edge will import your Chrome data and continually import your tabs if you have Chrome set as default. The prompt seems to mainly appear on PCs with Chrome installed, suggesting that Microsoft is once again targeting Chrome users.

Microsoft confirmed the new “feature” to The Verge. “This is a notification giving people the choice to import data from other browsers,” explains Microsoft spokesperson Caitlin Roulston. “There is an option to turn it off.”

So Microsoft clearly isn’t bothered that it’s automatically starting up Edge on people’s PC and then trying to trick them into importing their Chrome data. That’s not too surprising though since Microsoft has been pulling tricks like this for more than four years now.

Shortly after releasing its Chromium-based version of Edge in 2020, Microsoft started launching Edge automatically on people’s PCs in an effort to migrate them away from Chrome. Microsoft then blocked the EdgeDeflector tool to force Windows 11 users into Edge, started using prompts to stop people downloading Chrome, and made it really difficult to switch browser defaults in Windows 11.

We’ve also seen fake AI answers in Bing search results for Chrome, malware-like prompts in Windows 11 to get people to ditch Google, and even polls being injected into the Chrome download page.

Microsoft’s behavior here makes many people distrust Edge, Windows 11, and even the company’s AI efforts. The controversy around Recall should be a wake up signal to Microsoft that its Edge pop-ups in Windows 11 will make it difficult for consumers to trust what it’s doing with AI integration into Windows.