Verge reporter Tom Warren complained that after a Windows update, Microsoft’s Edge browser automatically opened with the Chrome tabs that were there before the update. Google Chrome was the default browser and Edge was used sporadically.
Tom never imported his data into Microsoft Edge or gave permission to do so, but the browser simply picked up where it left off in Chrome. Apparently, Microsoft was hoping that a certain number of users would simply not notice this and stick with Edge.
Warren found a setting in Microsoft Edge that imports data from Google Chrome on every launch:
Any access to your latest browser to perform any time to use Microsoft Edge.
Therefore, I managed to repeat this situation on my laptop, but it did not happen again on other computers. Several X users responded to his post about it, saying they had experienced the same thing.
this post bothered me for days so I reinstalled Windows ++ confirmed that the’s obscure setting to sync Chrome data into Edge (+ it’s shared to MSFT if you’re signed-in & sync your browsing data) – to turn it off, open Edge then: edge://settings/profiles/importBrowsingData pic.twitter.com/SiBmDsD8oT
– Zach Edwards ????infosec.exchange/@thezedwards (@thezedwards) January 26, 2024
It appears that this all has to do with the import feature in Microsoft Edge, which was not reported and which he says has been disabled. Zach Edwards, a privacy and data supply chain researcher, just installed Windows and responded to a post on X saying that during the install he encountered a new prompt that read:
Once verified, Microsoft Edge will regularly receive data from other browsers available on your Windows device. This data includes favorites, browsing history, cookies, autocomplete, extensions, settings and other browser data.
Microsoft says the data import is completed locally and stored locally, but it will be sent to Microsoft if you sign in and sync your browser data.
Many Windows users have been reporting this for months now, asking for help on Reddit and Microsoft’s support forums. Correspondents have confirmed that the feature has been disabled, but data imports continue to occur.
In the past, Microsoft has issued full-screen prompts after some Windows updates that tried to tempt people to switch to Microsoft Edge and Bing by default.
