Are you absolutely certain you want to stick with Google Chrome on your Windows PC? Well, even if you are, Microsoft might have other plans for you. A growing chorus of frustrated Windows 11 users has been reporting an unsettling experience with recent updates: Microsoft Edge launching with their last-opened Chrome tabs, regardless of their browser preferences.
The Verge’s editor, Tom Warren, found himself in the midst of this unsettling scenario firsthand. Upon rebooting his Windows PC after a software update, he discovered Edge not only usurping Chrome as the default browser—a behavior Edge has notoriously exhibited for years—but also surreptitiously syncing data from Chrome without his consent. This unauthorized intrusion left him with a sense of bewilderment and concern.
Warren’s encounter is not an isolated incident. Numerous users have voiced similar grievances in recent days, despite explicitly specifying Chrome as their default browser and opting out of data syncing with Edge. While Edge typically requests permission before importing tab and bookmark data from other browsers, this latest behavior suggests a blatant disregard for user preferences and privacy.
The root cause of this phenomenon remains unclear. Is it yet another instance of Microsoft’s persistent attempts to funnel users towards its first-party services, akin to a persistent barfly refusing to take no for an answer? Or could it be a glitch amplifying the aggressiveness of Edge’s tactics? While Edge does offer a setting to automatically import data from the default browser upon launch, many affected users, including myself, have found this setting disabled—a perplexing contradiction.
Regardless of the underlying cause, the recurrence of such incidents underscores the urgent need for Windows to dial back its heavy-handed tactics in promoting Microsoft’s proprietary software and services.
