If you have a PC that runs Windows 10, you will get the update that will automatically install Windows 10 on your computing device. There is no getting around that, except for temporarily delaying the inevitable. But the icing on the cake is that you will never be able to uninstall Edge from your Windows 10 PC. What? That sort of information is never a good sign, but what has ensued since will probably make you really wonder as to what is up with Microsoft. The company now has a Microsoft Edge support page which is titled “Can't uninstall Microsoft Edge”. Yes, you’ve again read that absolutely right. It is perhaps a result of the spike in Google Search for “uninstall Microsoft Edge” by users around the world, with a spike seen after the Edge web browser was pushed to all PCs this summer. Microsoft has confirmed that it is not an option to uninstall Microsoft Edge from Windows 10 PCs, at all, and it is not pleasing at all.
At the beginning of the FAQ page, Microsoft does a bit to justify why it is now rolling out the new chromium-based Microsoft Edge web browser to every Windows 10 machine as part of the big summer updates for the operating system. “Beginning with general availability of the new Microsoft Edge in January, Microsoft has migrated Windows customers from the legacy version of Microsoft Edge to the new version in a phased rollout. We want to ensure all Windows customers have the latest Microsoft Edge browser for the performance, privacy, security, productivity, and support features it offers,” they say. But this is just the sweetener before you are hit with the crux of the matter.
“The new version of Microsoft Edge gives users full control over importing personal data from the legacy version of Microsoft Edge. The new version of Microsoft Edge is included in a Windows system update, so the option to uninstall it or use the legacy version of Microsoft Edge will no longer be available,” says Microsoft. This comes just after Microsoft confirmed that the Internet Explorer 11 and the subsequent legacy Edge browser will reach the end of support life next year. The chromium-based Microsoft Edge web browser first rolled out this summer, and to be objective and fair, is a fine web browser. In fact, for me, it is a better bet than rival Google Chrome, which comparatively uses a lot more resources on the same PCs. The competition landscape, apart from runaway leaders Google Chrome, also includes Mozilla Firefox and Vivaldi.
According to data by Netmarketshare, Google Chrome rocks a global market share of 71.11% at the end of July, while Microsoft Edge now has 8.09% share of the browser ecosystem around the world. Mozilla’s Firefox clocks in with 7.36% share. Pushing Edge on all Windows 10 PCs should have an impact on these numbers, and Edge could see a jump in usage figures in the coming months as more Windows 10 users realize there is a new web browser on their PC.
Let us make it absolutely clear—it is good that Microsoft is pushing the latest Edge web browser via Windows 10 updates to give users a more secure browser to work with. We are all for having the latest security updates and improvements delivered seamlessly, which helps keep user data safe, helps with data privacy and keeps the world wide web a safer place to browse around. That is, if the Microsoft Edge web browser is their choice. But it should not be proudly stating the fact that users can’t uninstall a web browser if they want to. Give users the choice. It is only fair.
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