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Mozilla has published a report accusing Microsoft of using deceptive design to steer Windows users towards its Edge browser. It says the problem persists across several markets, including India, the US and the UK.
The study, titled Over The Edge 2.0, was conducted by deceptive design specialists Dr Harry Brignull and Cennydd Bowles. It revisits claims first examined two years ago and concludes that Microsoft still makes it difficult for people to download, set as default and continue using rival browsers across Windows, Bing and Copilot.
Among the practices highlighted, Windows Search and Widgets continue to open links in Edge even when users have chosen another default browser. Edge also places a banner on the Chrome download page on google.com, while Windows Backup does not consistently preserve browser settings when users move from Windows 10 to Windows 11.
The researchers tested Windows 10 and Windows 11 in India, the US, the UK and Germany. Mozilla says the results showed a marked difference between the European Economic Area and other regions, with users in Europe getting a fairer browser choice experience because of regulatory requirements under the Digital Markets Act.
In Germany, used in the study as a proxy for the European Economic Area, Microsoft had removed some of the more problematic patterns identified in earlier work. Outside that region, including in India and the US, nearly every documented harmful pattern remained in place, according to Mozilla.
Regional divide
The findings add to a broader debate over how large technology platforms present choice to users and whether design decisions can entrench dominant products. Browser defaults have long drawn regulatory attention because they shape how people access search, online services and software tied to wider digital ecosystems.
Mozilla argues that Microsoft has already shown it can change those experiences where rules require it to. The organisation is calling for the same browser choice arrangements to be applied globally, rather than only in jurisdictions with stricter competition obligations.
India features prominently in the report because of the size of its Windows user base and the scale of the migration still under way from Windows 10 to Windows 11. Mozilla says nearly 43% of Windows users in India were still on Windows 10 in the first quarter of 2026, the highest share among the regions tested.
That matters because browser preferences can be disrupted during device upgrades and software migration. The report says Windows Backup does not reliably retain a user's existing browser choices during the move from one version of the operating system to another.
AI concerns
The report also extends the browser choice debate to artificial intelligence tools embedded in operating systems. Mozilla says Copilot, Microsoft's AI assistant, opens web links in a side panel rendered by Edge regardless of the browser a user has set as default.
That approach, the report argues, raises a new competition issue as AI features become more tightly integrated with operating systems and other established products. If companies can direct users towards their own browser or web services through AI interfaces, defaults may become even more influential than they already are.
Windows remains one of the world's most widely used desktop operating systems, with Mozilla citing a share of roughly 65% of desktop devices globally. On that basis, the report argues that Microsoft's design choices can affect more than 1.4 billion users.
The report arrives as policymakers in several markets consider whether to introduce ex ante rules for large digital gatekeepers. Such rules aim to prevent anti-competitive conduct before it happens, rather than relying only on enforcement after the fact.
Mozilla links the European experience to that policy debate, arguing that the contrast between the European Economic Area and other markets shows how regulatory pressure can change product design. It says the same standards should not depend on where a user lives.
"Microsoft has shown that it can respect user choice. When regulators are watching, they make some changes. We would ask them to do it globally, rather than relying on competition regulation to force their hand," said Kush Amlani, Global Competition and Regulatory Lead at Mozilla.