Key Takeaways
- Edge is getting even more aggressive in trying to convince Chrome users to switch, with potential new pop-ups and triggers.
- Microsoft is closely monitoring Edge usage and may intervene if you use Chrome too much, even in Private Browsing mode.
- These new tactics to promote Edge may backfire and annoy users, showing Microsoft’s struggle to compete with Chrome.
If you’ve bought a Windows machine in recent years, there’s a good chance you used Edge to download another browser. The problem is, Edge really, really doesn’t like it when you use it to download another browser, especially if it’s Chrome. While other browsers such as Firefox still trigger some pester boxes, Microsoft has practically declared an all-out war against Chrome. Now, it seems that a future update will dial up the pestering if you dare consider downloading Chrome with Edge – or even if you don’t use Edge enough.
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Microsoft ramps up its mission to convince Chrome users to use Edge
As spotted by Windows Latest, the new Canary branch of Edge has gotten some new variables. These refer to Chrome in different ways, explaining what action the user has to take in order for it to fire.
The first anti-Chrome variable spotted was titled “msNurturingFeatureChromePBTrigger.” Windows Latest makes a guess that the “PB” in the variable name refers to “Private Browsing.” It surmises that it may involve a pop-up that appears when you enter Private Browsing on Chrome, presumably to tell the user that Edge can do that too. Another is titled “msRewardsOpenActionCenterOnChromeDownloadThankyou,” which will likely detect when you arrive at the Chrome “thank you for downloading” page. From the name, I believe it will open the Action Center to advertise Microsoft Rewards, the Redmond giant’s way of allowing users to earn digital currency for using its products.
Perhaps the most worrying is one called “msNurturingFeatureEdgeBrowserUsageLessThanThresholdPolicyManagerTrigger.” This one will keep tabs on how much you use Edge versus other browsers, and will presumably cause something to happen once it drops below a specific threshold.
Windows Latest goes on to list more variables, which it believes are for internal testing purposes:
msChromePBDetectionEdgeUsageLessThanFiftyTrigger: This activates if Edge usage is below 50% when Chrome’s Private Browsing is used.
msNurturingFeatureBrowserLaunchCooldownTrigger: A feature that limits how often browsers can be opened to manage usage.
msNurturingFeatureChromeBrowserUsageGreaterThanThresholdTrigger: Similar to the policy manager trigger but specifically activates with high Chrome usage to promote Edge.
msNurturingFeatureEdgeBrowserUsageLessThanThresholdTrigger: Activates when Edge usage is low, prompting more frequent use.
msNurturingFeatureNonMVUUserTrigger : Targets users who are not frequent users.
msNurturingFeatureTotalBrowserUsageGreaterThanThresholdTrigger: Another trigger for when overall browser usage is high.
Hopefully, these and the earlier variables are just for testing. If they’re intended for consumer use, we may see a torrent of new pester boxes for downloading and using Chrome. Unfortunately, this is just but one of the ways Microsoft shoots itself in the foot with Edge.