Microsoft Edge

Built for getting things done

Goodbye IE, Hello Edge!

Microsoft Edge was introduced in 2015 as the successor to Internet Explorer. The browser is Chromium based, sharing the same platform as its rival Google Chrome.

Due to being pre-installed on Windows, Edge is the third most popular browser on the market. This follows Chrome in first place and Safari in second.

Built For Doing

Edge was introduced as a browser built for getting more done on the web. This included features such as built in note taking, a reader mode, Cortana, and more.

Scroll down to read the article on Edge and why users should look at alternatives.

Chrome 2.0?

Microsoft has always had issues with deploying their web browsers, this is due to the wide variety of web browsers support on Windows. Now more than ever, it is a competitive space, with companies fighting to gain as much market share as possible. Chrome has been in the lead for over a decade, so smaller companies are competing against one another, rather than shooting for first place. This is where Microsoft Edge comes in, as it is the preinstalled browser on all Windows 10 & 11 devices today.
There has always been a distaste towards Internet Explorer, from issues with support, to struggling to stay up to date and compete with the latest and greatest feature set. This is where Microsoft Edge came in, caving to its competitor and being based of a Chromium build. This meant from its foundation, Edge had many similarities to Chrome, but as over the years people ditched other browsers for Chrome, this quickly became one of the first things all users did when purchasing a new machine.
At the core, Edge is a great browser. It is preinstalled, supports the latest HTML5 standards and is relatively lightweight compared to its major competitor, Google Chrome.
With the arrival of Windows 11, users were forced into using Microsoft Edge for many use cases. This ranged from the search bar in the start menu, to opening links sent to the user. If the user chose another web browser as their default, this would still open Edge if the file extension was different to the expected extension. This is done to force the browser onto users, hoping that some users would cave in and switch. This left quite a sour taste in many users mouths and workarounds were deployed by individuals to prevent Edge from launching on Windows 11. Microsft has been known to push shady tactics at its users, as this is a way for them to increase their market share and collect more user data.
In addition to this, Windows 11 has become more intrusive when it comes to user data, as the user is forced to create an account that connects to the internet when first booting. Users can also log into existing accounts, this is done so that the operatnig system and browser can work inconjunction to collect as much user data as possible. As edge is preinstalled, this gives Microsoft a unique edge and can send persistent identifers that can be used to link requests, along with IP addresses to backend servers. The more this is done, the larger the data pool Microsoft has for its users, this can also lead to revealing the users identity.
Microsoft claims that Edge sends diagnostic data used for product improvement purposes, this includes a device identifier. Within Windows, the identifier will enable a single-click ability to delete the related diagnostic data associated with the device ID which is stored on Microsoft servers at any time. This can be done from the Windows settings. Edge will also ask for permission to collect diagnostic data for product improvement purposes, then provide the capability to turn it off at any later point. This diagnostic data may contain information about websites you visit. However, they also claim it is not used to track your browsing history or URLs specifically tied to you.
With a variety of web browsers being available in the market, it seems Mirosoft has failed to hit the hammer on the nail once again. The business seems to have prioritised data collection and unique identifiers over providing a seamless, safe experience to the user. YD&PM cannot reccomend Microsoft Edge to any user, as there are far superior browsers in the market that care about users, rather than user data.
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