Microsoft has ditched an online document that was ostensibly about catering for those wanting to uninstall the Edge browser, but in actual fact, was an attempt to dissuade those thinking of removing the app to stick with it.
We reported on the ‘uninstall document’ last week, which came in the form of a web page that, from search results, looked like it pertained to removing Edge from your PC.
However, when actually navigating to the page, it turned out that the document was all about comparing Edge to Google Chrome, and extolling the virtues of the former.
When this hit the headlines, there were a fair few people left unimpressed by this heavy-handed attempt at persuasion – unsurprisingly – and so now Microsoft has canned the web page, as Windows Latest noticed.
When you try to visit this page now, you’re redirected to Microsoft’s Edge portal, which is still all about promoting the benefits of the browser – but without any pretence that this might help you remove Edge (and no mention of Chrome anywhere, either, it should be noted).
Analysis: A misleading tactic that needed to be canned
As you’re likely aware, Microsoft has a long history of prodding folks to use Edge, dating back to, well, the inception of the browser. The Windows operating system has long played host to various nudges, or outright adverts, pushing Edge, so it’s not exactly a surprise to see Microsoft having tried yet another angle on persuasion.
The misleading nature of the search result, compared to the contents of the web page (when it was still active), was the real problem here – and I’m not surprised Microsoft has quickly dropped this one.
What made it worse was the lure of clicking through to ‘uninstall Edge’ when for most folks (outside of Europe), there’s no official way to completely remove the browser from a Windows 11 installation. That’s because other bits of the operating system rely on code within Edge, or this is Microsoft’s stance on the matter, anyway.
You can delete all the shortcuts and so on to the browser, and ignore it, but you can’t actually remove the app as such. It’ll still be sat there lurking in the background. (Furthermore, I should clarify, you can try to ignore it, but it’ll pop up again and again with some regularity in the form of suggestions in various parts of Windows that you should be using Edge, and to make it your default browser).
One of the more frustrating elements about all this is that Edge is a genuinely good product – it tops our list of the best web browsers, in fact – but with constant attempts to promote it, Microsoft is more likely to drive folks away from the app, not into the fold.
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