Latest Windows 11 build seems to force Edge by preventing browser workarounds

The most recent Insider Preview build of Windows 11 seems to create solutions that allow users to set rival browsers as default, forcing them to rely on Microsoft’s Edge to handle Web links.

On Friday, Microsoft has published several updates to the Insider Preview, Beta, and Release Channels for Windows 11. In the company blog, Microsoft said: “We fixed an issue where operating system functionality could be improperly redirected when microsoft -edge: link is called.”

In other words, Microsoft has updated Windows 11 Preview to block any attempt to redirect certain URLs from the Edge browser.

Usually, a system uses whatever browser is set as default to display https:// links. However, the latest Windows 11 build (22494) seems to push users to set Edge as their browser by giving links as microsoft-edge: https://.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Windows Insider Program offers three channels for early adopters: Developer channel where new features are introduced for initial testing; Beta channel, where more complete features are included for final testing (best for users who want the most stable builds); and Program Release Preview channel for testing cumulative updates. After feedback from the Insider community, Microsoft may modify, withhold, or remove updates.

That latest change to Windows 11 builds for Insider program users prevents the user system from bypassing Microsoft Edge in favor of using third-party browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Brave, as well as alternative apps, such as EdgeDeflector.

Daniel Aleksandersen, who created the free EdgeDeflector app four years ago to combat forced use of Edge and allow links to open in third-party browsers, says Windows 11 will now push users to set Edge as default web browser.

EdgeDeflector works by intercepting microsoft-edge:// links – found in Windows 10 and 11 as well as other Microsoft applications – and redirecting them to https:// links that normally open in the browser. the user’s chosen default browsing, according to Aleksandersen. Users just need to install the app and choose it as default for microsoft-edge:// links instead of Microsoft Edge.

Aleksandersen said he created the app in response to “Microsoft’s anti-competitive practices.”

“Edge will even ‘declare’ your browser settings, as Microsoft calls it, while also unpinning competitors from the taskbar and replacing pinned apps with Edge,” Aleksandersen wrote in a blog post last week.

According to Aleksandersen, about 500,000 people use EdgeDeflector, a relatively small number compared to 1.3 billion systems running Windows 10. Windows 11 was released on October 5. Within three weeks, it was on more than 5% of “modern” PCs.

Based on AdDuplex, a company in Lithuania whose measurement technology is embedded in thousands of Windows Store apps, Windows 11 adoption numbers include 4.8% of Windows users in general and 0.3% of Windows Insider users. Ad Duplex’s latest data comes from 60,000 PCs running Windows 10 and 11 that were surveyed.

So what specifically changed in Windows 11 build 22494? Users can no longer set anything other than Microsoft Edge as the protocol handler for the microsoft-edge:// protocol. Or rather, users can choose between Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Edge (Insider Beta) and Microsoft Edge (Insider Dev). No third-party applications are allowed to handle the protocol.

“These are not the actions of a thoughtful company that cares about its products anymore. Microsoft is not a good steward of the Windows operating system,” argued Aleksandersen. “They are prioritizing advertising, bundled software, and service subscriptions over user productivity.”

For users, Aleksandersen advises, the best course of action is to complain to their local antitrust regulator — or switch to Linux. Your web browser is probably the most important – if not the only – application you use on a regular basis. “Microsoft has made it clear that their preferences for Windows are not relevant to users,” he said.