Microsoft now says it fixed a bug with its Edge browser that saw Edge import data from other web browsers like Chrome without users’ consent, though it hasn’t provided specifics on the issue.
Last month, various reports about the bug emerged online and from publications like The Verge, where some reporters experienced it firsthand. The bug affects an Edge feature that allows the browser to pull in data from other installed browsers. Users who had turned that feature off were surprised when, after a recent Windows update, Edge opened with all of the tabs they had used in their previous browsing sessions.
Microsoft quietly rolled out a fix for this bug in Edge version 121.0.2277.128, which includes the following patch note:
“Edge has a feature that provides an option to import browser data on each launch from other browsers with user consent. This feature’s state might not have been syncing and displaying correctly across multiple devices. This is fixed.”
Microsoft’s fix suggests the problem stemmed from Edge not properly syncing the setting for browsing data importing across devices, but that description seems vague at best. The Verge says it reached out for clarification but doesn’t expect a response, considering Microsoft has so far refused to discuss the issue.
The good news here is that people impacted by the bug should have a resolution once their PC gets the latest Edge update. The bad news is that for most Windows users, Microsoft will likely continue using scummy tactics to push the Edge browser on people. Some of the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) regulations will cut down on those tactics in the region, but that might not stop Microsoft from pushing Edge outside the EU.
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