Microsoft’s changes to the Digital Markets Act have already included allowing Windows machines in its cover areas to uninstall edges and remove Bing results from Windows searches, but now the list is growing in some meaningful ways. New features announced on Monday for Microsoft Windows users in the European economy (EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) announced that include options to uninstall the Microsoft Store and avoid additional nags or tips that require them to set Microsoft Edge as their default browser unless they choose to turn it on.
The last one is something I think is easy to get in the US, and according to Microsoft, it already lives in the EEA, starting with Edge version 137.0.3296.52, which was launched on May 29.
Also, unless the user chooses not to select, set up other browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox, Brave, or other settings to pin it to the taskbar. When setting other browser defaults, it has attached it to several links and file types like https and .html, but now users in EEA will see it works for more types like “read”, FTP and .svg. The default browser is changed to some users in the Beta channel for real-time and will be widely available on Windows 10 and Windows 11 in July.
Microsoft also explained that even after removing the store app from the start and settings, “apps installed and distributed from the Microsoft Store will continue to get updates” and can always be reinstalled.
Other changes mentioned include automatically enabling third-party applications to add their web search results to Windows Search when installed, and the option to move search providers based on user preferences. With the update rolling out in “Early June”, the Microsoft Bing app, along with the widget board and lock screen, will open web content using the default browser.
