{"id":86378,"date":"2026-07-14T05:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/?p=86378"},"modified":"2026-07-14T05:38:41","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T12:38:41","slug":"browser-choice-windows-report-over-the-edge-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/mozilla\/browser-choice-windows-report-over-the-edge-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Over The Edge 2.0: what independent researchers found about browser choice on Windows"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Two years ago Mozilla asked two leading experts on deceptive design, Dr. Harry Brignull and Cennydd Bowles, to look at how Microsoft was treating people who tried to use a different browser on Windows. Their report, Over The Edge, documented a pattern of design choices in Windows, Edge, and Bing that nudged, pressured, and at times tricked people into using Edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This morning, the same researchers are publishing Over The Edge 2.0. They retested the same questions across Windows 10 and Windows 11, and added two new dimensions. First, how does Microsoft’s approach change from one jurisdiction to another? They assessed Microsoft’s tactics across four regions: the USA, India, the UK, and Germany, as a representative country in the European Economic Area. Second, they examined how AI features, specifically Copilot, are being used to shape the same outcomes the original report identified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their conclusion is short. Microsoft still does not allow users to download, set as the default, or keep using alternative browsers without harmful interference.<\/strong> The patterns are documented, and they meet established definitions of coercion, deception, and manipulation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is one bright spot. In Europe, where the Digital Markets Act applies, some<\/em> harmful design tactics are gone. The Bing ‘All you need is right here’ panel and its trick wording. The nagging Windows 10 ‘You’re almost done setting up your PC’ journey. The Copilot data toggles that default to \u201cOn\u201d in the US and India, by contrast default to \u201cOff\u201d in the EEA and the UK. Same Windows. Same Edge. Same Copilot. Different design choices, because the law required them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That is the heart of the report. Although the EEA product still has obvious harmful design patterns, Microsoft has built a fairer user experience for browser choice. It has shipped that experience to one region. Everywhere else, including the US, the UK, India, and Brazil, harmful design patterns continue. This is an active choice \u2013 and one that can be made differently.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings are the researchers’ own. Mozilla commissioned the work, and the report discloses that role, but the methodology, the screenshots, and the public journey database at edge.brignull.com<\/a> let anyone check the evidence for themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We make Firefox because we believe the web should serve people, not platforms. Firefox is independent, built by Mozilla, and designed around what is best for users, not what increases lock-in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read the full report here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two years ago Mozilla asked two leading experts on deceptive design, Dr. Harry Brignull and Cennydd Bowles, to look at how Microsoft was treating people who tried to use a different browser on Windows. Their report, Over The Edge, documented a pattern of design choices in Windows, Edge, and Bing that nudged, pressured, and at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1829,"featured_media":86391,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[290364,463312,5],"tags":[464294],"coauthors":[464415,464416],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nOver The Edge 2.0: what independent researchers found about browser choice on Windows<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Two years after their first report about browser choice on Windows, two independent researchers publish Over The Edge 2.0.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.mozilla.org\/en\/mozilla\/browser-choice-windows-report-over-the-edge-2\/\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" 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