Microsoft Edge transfers your data without user consent?

Microsoft is not giving up on encouraging users to use Microsoft Edge by transferring your open tabs and data from your browser to Edge. Edge has proven to be a powerful browser since its introduction in 2020, but it still tries to steal users from other browsers.

Microsoft and Google have been arguing about this for years. Microsoft even hid the default browser settings in Windows 11 a while ago. Another tactic Microsoft is using is to make Edge copy all your active tabs from Google Chrome. This way, if you enter Edge, you can pick up where you left off.

Your browsing data and information can also be transferred to Microsoft Edge against your will

This has started to happen on Windows PCs after the update. In the latest Windows updates, Microsoft is more aggressively using an existing setting that transfers data from Chrome to Edge every time you launch the browser.

Microsoft Edge’s setting that allows users to import browser data with every launch was first available in 2022. However, this option could be turned off in Edge’s settings. What’s changed now is that Microsoft is forcing this setting on users after Windows updates.

Twitter/X user Zach Edwards found that Windows added a new option that was turned on by default during the post-update installation. The description of this option is as follows:

“Upon user consent, Microsoft Edge will be able to regularly import data from other browsers on the Windows device. This data includes your favorites, browsing history, cookies, autofill data, extensions, settings, and other browsing data.”

Microsoft then briefly guided users on how to disable this. On another screen, it forces users to accept this setting, while also offering a “Not Now” option.

However, many users noticed that Edge imported Chrome data every time it launched, even if the import setting was disabled. Microsoft has not commented on this behavior.