I feel like I'm in the minority- but I actually kind of like Edge. I understand that it's probably not the best in terms of privacy, but I rarely search for things I shouldn't. The integration with AI (Copilot) is quite nice and have changed how I search now. I also use it for generating ideas and leads on open-ended questions, too... which has helped a lot in my creative endeavors. I know this sounds like a pro-Microsoft comment and post, but I just want to get on my computer - do a few things and get some stuff done. I don't live my entire life on my PC anymore.
When Google advertised their browser every time you visited google.com with a non-Google browser, nobody lost their mind. Nobody (yes, I know some people complain) complains when Apple forces Safari on every iOS user (Even if you used a non-Apple browser, it's still Safari under the hood).
But when Microsoft does it, people would have you believe the sky is falling.
I liked Edge originally too - it seemed cleaner than chrome and had some cool features like vertical tabs and the Dev tools that were better than Chrome's. I made it my daily driver.
Then they adding a shopping helper; then more ads to the new start-page; then a notification about Microsoft rewards; then popups about how "Bing is better" or that "Bing AI" was there to help - don't forget the "Open links in Edge on Mobile" popup; then they added a side toolbar with a giant B[ing] button that wasn't removable unless you toggled a group policy (now there's an option for it). The damn button was the last straw for me because of the amount of work I needed to do to just disable it.
> I just want to get on my computer - do a few things and get some stuff done
Yeah, so do I and Edge kept getting in the way to keep telling me about all the new things that Microsoft things I should use.
Chrome isn't great - the privacy sandbox/built-in interests stuff is disgusting - but Chrome wasn't as "in your face" so I could just start it and go. Brave avoided the the privacy sandbox and now Firefox works for me everywhere.
When Google advertised their browser every time you visited google.com with a non-Google browser, nobody lost their mind. Nobody (yes, I know some people complain) complains when Apple forces Safari on every iOS user (Even if you used a non-Apple browser, it's still Safari under the hood).
But when Microsoft does it, people would have you believe the sky is falling.