This is a new story of private data which risks tarnishing the (already bad) reputation of Gafam. According to a journalist from The VergeMicrosoft Edge would steal data from other browsers by performing automatic synchronization.
Microsoft Edge would seize data without authorization
Windows 11 update KB5034204 was followed by a very unpleasant surprise for Tom Warren. After his installation, the journalist from The Verge was surprised to find that Microsoft Edge launched automatically when his machine started, even though it was not his default browser. Worse: all the tabs previously opened in Google Chrome appeared. A situation observed on two different devices.
But how is this possible? It would be a dark pattern. Requesting permission to synchronize data between browsers is a button “Accept” in blue color, while the option “Later”, in gray, is less visible. However, Tom Warren refused this synchronization. The journalist specifies, however, that a crash from the window was perhaps interpreted as consent on his part. For the moment, the Redmond firm has not commented on the situation.
Does Microsoft Edge completely ignore the user’s response? Tom Warren is far from being an isolated case. Several Internet users, particularly on Reddit or X, explain that they have been faced with a similar problem. All had refused synchronization.
To check if the data is synchronized, simply open Microsoft Edge and go to edge://settings/profiles/importBrowsingData. Then it is possible to modify the preferences.