Microsoft blocks EdgeDeflector to force Windows 11 users into Edge

From The Verge: Microsoft has already made it more difficult to switch default browsers in Windows 11, and now the company is going a step further by blocking apps like EdgeDeflector. Third-party apps like EdgeDeflector and even Firefox have offered workarounds to Microsoft forcing people to use Edge in Start menu search results, even if their default browser is not Edge.

Microsoft has been forcing Windows 10 and Windows 11 users into Edge and its Bing search engine in the Start menu search results, and now with the new Widgets panel in Windows 11. It’s a frustrating part of Windows that doesn’t respect your default browser choice. EdgeDeflector lets you bypass these restrictions, and open Start menu search results in your default browser of choice.

The EdgeDeflector block first appeared in an early preview build of Windows 11 last week. While the block initially looked like a bug, Microsoft has now confirmed the changes will arrive for all Windows 11 users in a software update that’s arriving in the coming weeks. Microsoft has decided to prevent app developers from invoking microsoft-edge protocol links, which are now restricted to the Edge browser.

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