Microsoft admits Edge is once again trying to steal your Chrome tabs

Here we go again. At the beginning of this year, users noticed that Microsoft was blatantly stealing Chrome data in an attempt to convert Chrome users to Edge. Following the backlash and without admitting the guilt, Microsoft fixed the situation only to get back to its dirty tricks in less than a year.

Microsoft Edge has now been caught auto-starting on PCs and promising to "enhance your browsing experience" with Copilot. The option to move data from other browsers, i.e., Chrome, is ticked by default.

Microsoft's browser auto-starting without user consent just to show you an ad and get your data is not the only infuriating part. In a typical Microsoft fashion, just like with that story about Windows 11 update ads with two "yes" buttons, the only apparent choice is to accept and continue. If you want to reject the life-changing offer, you will have to aim for a small close button in the upper-right corner of the prompt, which, some argue, looks way too similar to AI sparkles on the banner art.

Unlike earlier this year, this time, Microsoft openly admits its dark patterns. Here is what a Microsoft spokesperson told The Verge:

This is a notification giving people the choice to import data from other browsers. There is an option to turn it off.

In other words, if you have never used Edge, the only way to prevent this annoying behavior is to open the browser, go through all of its nags to share data, deal with it auto-signing into your Microsoft Account, and only then turn off autostart.

Microsoft does not look like it cares too much about the public outcry. From injecting ads into Chrome's official website to showing adware-like popups and spamming with polls, this company cannot deal with the fact that some people prefer Google Chrome. And the worst part (or the funniest, depending on how you look at it) is that despite all this herculean effort and the fact that it is the default browser in Windows, Microsoft Edge is growing extremely slowly.

It is not just people ranting on X or Reddit or me writing angry posts every now and then alongside other websites. Browser makers and consumer rights advocacy groups demand regulators to subject Microsoft and its browser to regulations and put an end to its dark practices. The Recall controversy forced Microsoft to redo a lot of things and make the experience strictly opt-in. If only someone could force Microsoft to tame its browser as well.