Mozilla isn't happy with Microsoft for changing how users change the default web browser in Windows 10

Reading time icon 2 min. read


Readers help support MSPoweruser. When you make a purchase using links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Tooltip Icon

Read the affiliate disclosure page to find out how can you help MSPoweruser effortlessly and without spending any money. Read more

firefox

Windows 10 comes with a lot of new features such as Microsoft Edge and Cortana. Alongside these major new features, the OS also brings some other tiny changes. Windows 10 changes how users change the default apps — and the process of changing a default app is a bit harder on Windows 10 than it was on Windows 8/8.1. Now, Mozilla, the company that builds Firefox isn’t happy with the change. The company’s CEO, Chris Beard, today sent an open letter to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella explaining why the company isn’t happy with the change.

Chris started off by calling the process a “disturbing aspect” of Windows 10. Here’s an excerpt from his letter:

“I am writing to you about a very disturbing aspect of Windows 10. Specifically, that the update experience appears to have been designed to throw away the choice your customers have made about the Internet experience they want, and replace it with the Internet experience Microsoft wants them to have.

When we first saw the Windows 10 upgrade experience that strips users of their choice by effectively overriding existing user preferences for the Web browser and other apps, we reached out to your team to discuss this issue. Unfortunately, it didn’t result in any meaningful progress, hence this letter.”

Chris also states how millions of Windows users’ choices are being ignored in Windows 10. However, he states that the company is appreciating that Microsoft is keeping apps’ configuration. “We appreciate that it’s still technically possible to preserve people’s previous settings and defaults, but the design of the whole upgrade experience and the default settings APIs have been changed to make this less obvious and more difficult”, he added.

On Microsoft’s part, this is kind of good as the company wants Windows 10 users to use Microsoft Edge, which is faster than Chrome and Firefox. However, it’ll be very interesting to see if Microsoft decides to replace the process of changing default apps in Windows 10 with the one from Windows 8. Until then, tell us if you like the new way of changing default apps in Windows 10 in the comment section below.

Source: Mozilla (1), (2) – Via: WC

More about the topics: edge, firefox, Microsoft Edge, mozilla, windows 10