Microsoft's anticompetitive practices

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The software company Microsoft has had a history of harming its competition on devices running Windows. This is a historical list of every incident where Microsoft has harmed its competition

Background

Soon after the introduction of applications that came preinstalled with Windows, Microsoft has had the incentive to force users into the native applications installed, rather than any third-party programs. As an example, with the release of Windows 10, the preinstalled web browser Microsoft Edge has had a litany of incidents where the web browser forced users into using it rather than the browser the user installed.

History of incidents

Microsoft Edge

Resetting primary browser: 2017 - Present

Edge has frequently been resetting the default browser to itself without consent from the user. While there are methods available online to disable this, it is tedious to achieve, especially for users who are not tech-savvy.

Inability to permanently delete: 2018 - Present

During major updates for Windows, users have been reporting their installations of Edge being reinstalled to their devices without their consent.

Importing content from other browsers without consent: 2020 - Unknown

Users have reported on frequent occasions that Edge has imported user data from browsers such as Chrome and Firefox without first requesting consent from the user.

Prompts to stop users from installing competing browsers: 2021 - Present

A screenshot that shows an example of Edge harassing the user into using Edge.

Since December 2021, users who install other web browsers, such as Chrome, Brave, or Opera, will face a pop-up on their screen telling users to instead use Edge. Some of the messages of these pop-ups include:

“Microsoft Edge runs on the same technology as Chrome, with the added trust of Microsoft.”

“That browser is so 2008! Do you know what’s new? Microsoft Edge.”

“‘I hate saving money,’ said no one ever. Microsoft Edge is the best browser for online shopping.”

This has been reported to occur on devices running either Windows 10 or Windows 11,

Family Safety

Blocking Chrome from launching: 2025 - Present

A feature seen within Windows 11's parental controls is Family Safety. A key problem shown from this feature is that it can questionably ban certain applications from properly running on the device, with no notice to the administrator in charge of the device. In June 2025, this feature banned the string "Chrome", which blocked the web browser Chrome from functioning. Schools in particular use this feature on devices given out for students to complete classwork remotely, and as Chrome holds the majority market share of web browser usage, (65-70%) there has been mass reports of students being unable to complete their classwork strictly due to this flaw.

Currently, Microsoft has neglected to inform users on rolling out a fix in the future, and the only solutions available to users is to either rename the executable on the affected device or disable "Block inappropriate browsing" inside the Family Safety settings.

References

Add a category with the same name as the product, service, website, software, product line or company that this article is about.

The "Incidents" category is not needed.

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