Prime Highlights:
- Microsoft makes it possible for Windows users in Europe to remove Edge and Bing and cuts down on prompts to use Edge as the default.
- The updates align with the EU’s Digital Markets Act to enhance competition and user choice.
Key Facts:
- Beginning with Edge version 137.0.3296.52, EEA users can uninstall Microsoft Edge and the Microsoft Store app.
- The users can also designate third-party browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, or Brave to be the default, with additional file type support and taskbar pinning.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Economic_Area
- Third-party web search is now built-in by Windows Search, with the option for customized search providers.
Key Background:
Microsoft has released significant changes to Windows 10 and 11 in the European Economic Area (EEA) for compliance with the European Digital Markets Act (DMA), a regulatory instrument for promoting equitable competition by allowing the domination of the marketplace by large technology companies. The DMA, introduced in May 2023, mandates that businesses be designated as “gatekeepers” to provide users with greater control over default apps and services. Under the DMA, there are currently seven gatekeepers, including Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook Meta.
In accordance with these demands, Microsoft now enables users in the EEA to completely uninstall the Microsoft Edge browser and the Microsoft Store app—something that was impossible before. This change, beginning with Edge version 137.0.3296.52 released at the close of May 2025, also eliminates ongoing prompts asking users to make Edge the default browser. This improves the experience for those who want to use alternative browsers.
In addition, Microsoft has improved support for third-party browsers by allowing people to set a browser such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Brave as a default for more file types and protocols. The system also sets the specified browser as a pinned application in the taskbar by default for ease of access unless the user exempts it. At the same time, Microsoft’s search integration allows support for third-party web search providers so that people can modify what search providers show up in Windows Search.
Microsoft has also changed the way web pages are processed within areas of Windows like the Lock Screen and Widgets Board to always use the selected default browser rather than pushing content through Edge. Even if the Microsoft Store app is removed, apps that were installed from the Store will still get updates, and users can re-install the Store app if needed.
These actions are Microsoft’s continued efforts to move in line with EU regulation and follow a larger effort at regulation to make markets more controllable by users and open to competition. Through greater ability to exercise choice with search engines and browsers, Microsoft aligns itself with the DMA’s objectives of expanding consumer choice and combating the monopoly of one platform throughout Europe.
