Microsoft Edge may be transferring data from Chrome without the user knowing

A seemingly hidden Windows feature allows Microsoft Edge to import all your open Google Chrome tabs. Recently users and a reporter Border Most people complain about the secretly activated function.

The vehicle began attracting community attention months ago but rose to prominence after the reporter Border, Tom Warren Notice that Microsoft Edge makes a surprise import of your old Chrome tabs. MS browser Immediately after the Windows Update update, it opened all the tabs of the rival application.

I installed the latest Windows 11 update (KB5034204) and it restarted and automatically opened Microsoft Edge with all the Chrome tabs I had open before installing the update. I could not believe my eyes. Has anyone else experienced this?

— Tom Warren (@tomwarren) January 24, 2024

However, Warren does not remember transferring data to Microsoft Edge and did not confirm tab sharing for the program. Somehow this function was enabled in the app, and the journalist only realized this when he noticed that all his accounts were logged out.

According to research and user reports, this is a poorly documented feature of Microsoft Edge. Function It is enabled in the browser or during the operating system installation process.

This feature is not mandatory, but it surprised Warren, who believed he disabled the function when installing Windows 11. The reporter believes that the update introduced some kind of bug, which resulted in re-enabling the feature in Microsoft Edge.

Another case of Dark Pattern in Windows 11

According to one of the reports, the activation of the feature happens very secretly and many users must have enabled it without knowing it. The request occurs in the Windows installation, but the interface is a Dark Pattern To ensure prompt consent.

this post bugged me for days so I reinstalled Windows++, confirmed there was an obscure setting to sync Chrome data to Edge (+shared with MSFT if you’re signed in and sync your browsing data) – to turn it off, open Edge and then: edge://settings/profiles/importBrowsingData pic.twitter.com/SiBmDsD8oT

—Zach Edwards ??infosec.exchange/@thezedwards (@thezedwards) January 26, 2024

Dark Pattern is a design pattern that attempts to trick the user into “accidentally” accepting something. The strategy consists of using colors, flashy icons, or button placement to encourage unwanted actions.

In the case of the Microsoft Edge feature, the Dark Pattern occurs in the positioning and color of the buttons: the “Not now” button is displayed in gray, next to the “Accept” button in blue.

How to disable the function

To disable data transfer from other browsers, you must follow these steps:

1. In Microsoft Edge, go to: Settings > Import browser data;
2. Disable import at every Chrome startup.

If the function does not appear in your Microsoft Edge, it may already be disabled. In this case, you do not need to do anything.