If you occasionally open Microsoft Edge while using Google Chrome, but then close it, you may soon see a warning advising you to pin the browser to the Windows 11 taskbar. This is an internal experiment that may or may not be officially released, but it makes it clear that Microsoft really wants you to stop using Google Chrome and switch to Edge.
Microsoft Edge pop-ups (old)
It’s no secret that Microsoft likes to promote Edge on Windows 11. In addition, it also faces an antitrust lawsuit initiated by Opera in Brazil, accusing it of anti-competitive behavior.
The Canary update for Edge started rolling out about two hours ago today, and it includes an Edge growth marker for the prompt "Edge is locked when closing the browser." The "Lock Microsoft Edge" campaign is nothing new, but the flags specifically mention Google Chrome.
We discovered the new feature toggle in the Edge Canary build, which may be an internal experiment that may or may not be released to consumers. These feature switches are currently unavailable.
A flag called "msOptimizeChromePBSignalForPinningOnCloseCampaigns" which obviously means "PinningOnClose". "PBSignal" is an internal behavioral signal used to determine which users should see the popup. Do you meet the internal threshold specified by Chrome to see this alert? If not, you won't see it after exiting the browser.
Old Microsoft Edge activity
Another flag called "msPinningCampaignChromeUsageGreaterThan90Trigger" shows that it's not visible to everyone, but you'll only see the popup to pin Microsoft Edge to the taskbar if Chrome usage exceeds 90%.
Now, we don't know how Microsoft determines Chrome usage. Maybe default browsing statistics? Or import signals? Or does Microsoft collect telemetry data? We don't know because these are feature flags that don't work and may be an internal idea that will never be implemented.
Regardless, Microsoft's intentions are clear. If you spend most of your time using Chrome, Microsoft wants the Edge browser to pop up a "pin to taskbar" window.
There is another variant pin activity called "msPinningOnCloseCampaignsChromeEngagedUser". It targets those designated as "Chrome users" (i.e. those who use Chrome more frequently than other browsers). Finally, there is a flag that targets users who don't use Chrome, so it may be more subtle or worded differently.
Perhaps, Microsoft might ask those using Edge to pin the browser to the taskbar, even if they don't use Chrome.
There are indications that this is an exit reminder asking you to pin Edge to the taskbar/Start menu. Whether you'll see it, and which version you'll see, depends on your inner "Should we show this?" signal and how often you use Chrome. When Chrome usage reaches ">90%," this reminder will be triggered.