Microsoft accused of aggressively pushing its Edge browser onto Opera users

While many believe there is one definitive browser to rule them all, there remain plenty of options to choose from. Unfortunately, those opting to use Opera seem to subject to harassment by Microsoft with constant pop-ups advising the switch to its Edge browser.

Microsoft is known for its pushy behaviour across virtually all of its platforms, devices and features. Windows 10 is known for forcing updates, pushing feedback prompts and constantly edging its first-party browser onto its users.

For some Opera users, this was just a little too invasive, prompting a handful to flock to Reddit to describe the issues. As first picked up by Windows Report, Opera users were witnessing constant pop-ups in new tabs when browsing the internet. These new tabs were advertising Microsoft Edge, showcasing its 99 percent block rate for socially engineered malware in comparison to just 87 percent on Google Chrome and 70 percent on Firefox.

Despite the self-imposed statistics being a problem in and of itself, the unexpected and intrusive behaviour infuriated many users and prompts concerns of Microsoft’s conflict of interest in running both a browser and an operating system.

It’s one thing that the company can deal out Microsoft Edge as a default browser that can be swapped out for another at the user’s discretion, but to intrusively calculate the browser that your user is choosing to make use of and then give a prompt to switch back is going to leave a bad taste in people’s mouths.

If your gut reaction is telling you that something is off because the screenshot says that the prompt has detected Google Chrome, then you have a sharp eye and some internet savvy to beware of scams. While it’s possible that the Reddit posts were mistaken or sensationalised, Opera makes use of Chromium at its base level and is often detected as Google Chrome as a result. The reason why Chrome users aren’t reporting the same is likely because Google’s variant likely blocks them by default.

Microsoft has yet to officially comment on the pushy practices.

KitGuru Says: Every company tends to have its own intrusive way of pushing its own browser as default. Don’t have Chrome as your default? Visiting Google might net you regular messages reminding you that it provides its own browser as well as search engine. Do you think Microsoft were intrusive? Do you see many advertisements for other browsers? And what browser are you running now?

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