Microsoft’s one-click default browser change in Windows 11 is raising eyebrows from its browser rivals.

The app tweak was released in the latest set of optional cumulative updates for Windows 11, replacing the painfully granular way in which users have to switch from the Edge browser to something else.

Vivaldi boss Jon von Tetzchner said The register“We’ve always believed that Microsoft, and others like them, should make it easy for users to choose the products that are right for them.

“This should apply to all users, not just those who are technically proficient enough to realize that they need to install an optional update and know how to do it. It should be installed for all users.

“Although they made an attempt, the fact that it was done the way it was has led to speculation that it is only being done to avoid being sued for anti-competitive behavior, not to actually solve the problem. underlying.”

Prior to the change, the need to click through all the protocols and file types that needed to be associated taxed even the most enthusiastic users. Most probably wouldn’t care and just stick with the default.

Ending on a vaguely ominous note for the Windows maker, Von Tetzchner concluded, “Microsoft should make it as easy for all users to use other browsers as using Edge, and stop abusing their power to push Edge on users.

“They continue to try to make it more difficult to switch to other browsers and use them. We look forward to the EU addressing this malpractice.”

He is not alone. Another browser maker, Mozilla, said The register that Microsoft was moving in the right direction, but said “more can be done to respect the choice of default browser on Windows.

“People should have the ability to simply and easily set defaults, and all operating systems should offer official developer support for default status.”

The Firefox maker added: “In practice, we would also like to see progress on reducing the number of steps required to set a new default browser, and on opening up and making available APIs for apps set the defaults used by other Microsoft apps.”

Mozilla had found a way to programmatically handle the multiple steps required to change the defaults with a single click before Microsoft made the necessary changes.

Microsoft would be wise to err on the side of caution when it comes to setting Windows defaults. As 2021 drew to a close, the company was criticized for pushing its own browser at the expense of others and Vivaldi’s Vivaldi’s Von Tetzchner at the time took the company to task over what he described as ” anti-competitive practices”.

The browser maker boss said at the time that he found Microsoft’s products very insistent on users sticking with Edge, so much so that it was recommended to him when he researched Vivaldi with Bing, and noted repeated calls via dialog windows from Microsoft asking that it stick with the Windows giant’s Chromium-based browser as it attempted to switch. ®