If you’ve got a modern Windows computer, then you likely have had to deal with Microsoft Edge at some point. But why won’t Microsoft let users install it?
While it’s been quite a while since Microsoft released Edge, it still isn’t exactly well-liked. Strangely, one of the biggest reasons people dislike it is the extent to which Microsoft pushes users toward it. For instance, in February 2025, Microsoft was caught redirecting people to a page promoting Edge every time they searched «how to uninstall Microsoft Edge» on Bing.
The page essentially sang Edge’s praises and didn’t hold back on throwing shade at its biggest competitor, Google Chrome, claiming things like, «Edge delivers, on average, 25 extra minutes of battery life compared to Chrome.» Ironically, the page didn’t include a single word about actually uninstalling Edge. Microsoft eventually took it down after social media caught wind of it, but even the replacement page doesn’t mention the word «uninstall» once. Instead, it’s just another list of reasons why Microsoft thinks Edge is the best Chromium browser out there.
Since Edge comes pre-installed on every Windows 10 and 11 PC, and users are often forced to use it for certain system features, many want out and wish they could remove it from their PC entirely. Unsurprisingly, Microsoft doesn’t want that. On a Microsoft Support page, the company explains that Edge is the default web browser for Windows and is an «essential component» of Windows that can’t be uninstalled.You can stop Microsoft Edge from popping up all the time
You can test the above yourself by going to «Settings» > «Apps» > «Installed Apps» and locating Microsoft Edge in the list.
