Named & shamed

SOFTWARE WARNING!Microsoft Edge begs you not to ditch it for Chrome

When it comes to browsers, Microsoft has a huge inferiority complex. Its Edge browser is just as good as Google’s Chrome, but its market share is a measly five per cent, far below the latter’s 63 per cent. But that doesn’t excuse its increasingly irritating attempts to keep you using it.

In the past few weeks trying to download Chrome while using Edge has brought up a survey asking why you had the nerve to try another browser. “We love having you!” it pleads ( 1in our main screenshot), before offering you options, including you don’t like its news feed and you can’t search Google easily 2 .

These options appear on the right, in the Edge sidebar, which Microsoft claims is a place for you to “multitask” on the web. On this evidence, it’s clearly also a place for Microsoft to act like a needy ex-lover wondering why they’ve been dumped. When I saw the survey I picked ‘Too many ads and pop-ups’ 3 , though to be fair this is just as big a problem in Chrome.

Microsoft’s other attempts to dissuade you from abandoning Edge include a snazzy banner claiming that the browser “runs on the same technology as Chrome, with the added trust of Microsoft” 4 .

It also shows this message as a pop-up at the top of the page. Clicking ‘Browse securely now’ (see screenshot right) sets Edge as your default.

I suppose these tactics work with some people, but I bet most are just baffled. It also makes Microsoft look desperate and petty. Sorry Edge, I’ve gone for good – and I’m changing the locks too.

KEUMARS’ VILLAIN OF THE FORTNIGHT Ahmad Sarfr