Microsoft has often turned to pretty controversial moves to advertise Edge browser, including popups on the Windows 10 desktop, and now the company is accused of embracing an even more aggressive strategy.
A post on reddit reveals that Windows 10 automatically opens a new tab in Opera browser to display an advertisement for Edge.
Oddly enough, the ad itself doesn’t say anything about Opera, but instead highlights Edge’s capabilities versus Google Chrome, the world’s number one browser on the desktop.
“Microsoft Edge is safer than Google Chrome,” the ad reads according to a screenshot also posted online. The text comes with a bunch of other numbers to show the block rate for social engineered malware, and Microsoft Edge obviously wins the battle with Chrome and Firefox.
Opera browser isn’t mentioned anywhere, which is uncanny to say the least especially because the ad is displayed inside this particular application, and the ad appears to be the typical message that the company has shown on Windows 10 systems before.
It’s not clear if this behavior happens only for some users or on all Windows 10 systems with Opera installed, but we weren’t able to reproduce it on several computers running this browser, despite previously seeing popups for Microsoft Edge.
Microsoft hasn’t commented on these claims of pushing ads throughout Windows 10, but the company previously said that the Edge popups are actually what it called “Windows Tips notifications” supposed to help users make the most of the browser.
“As we continue to improve Microsoft Edge, we want to inform our users of great new features that are available both in the browser and throughout Windows 10. Windows Tips notifications were created to provide people with quick, easy information that can help them enhance their Windows 10 experience. Windows 10 users can easily change default settings and preferences, should they wish, including turning off these Windows Tips and Tricks notifications in their system’s settings,” a company spokesperson told us.
We’ve reached out to the company to ask for more information on this reported behavior and we’ll update the article if an answer is offered.
