Microsoft Edge could be about to get a whole lot whinier

No matter where you alliances lie in the great browser debate, when we’re comparing Chrome vs Edge, there are some compelling argument to be made for both sides. While PC users are free to choose one, split their time between both, or go with any number of alternative browsers, Google and Microsoft are very interested in improving their market share, and each has techniques it uses to grab your attention and keep you coming back. Don’t be surprised if you start seeing Microsoft dialing up those efforts, as some recent changes to Edge suggest the company’s about to add some new tools to its arsenal.

Looking through a new canary build of Microsoft Edge, the team at Windows Latest finds a bunch of new strings referencing metrics for tracking browser use in Windows 11 (via XDA Developers). While browsers pleading with you to set them as your system default is nothing new, the granularity of the behavior Edge seems interested in is what makes these recent checks so noteworthy:

msNurturingFeatureChromePBTrigger
msNurturingFeatureEdgeBrowserUsageLessThanThresholdPolicyManagerTrigger
msRewardsOpenActionCenterOnChromeDownloadThankyou
msChromePBDetectionEdgeUsageLessThanFiftyTrigger
msNurturingFeatureBrowserLaunchCooldownTrigger
msNurturingFeatureChromeBrowserUsageGreaterThanThresholdTrigger
msNurturingFeatureEdgeBrowserUsageLessThanThresholdTrigger
msNurturingFeatureNonMVUUserTrigger
msNurturingFeatureTotalBrowserUsageGreaterThanThresholdTrigger

Based on their labels, many of these appear ready to trigger when separately defined usage thresholds are passed; others seem hard-coded for 50%. We can also see Microsoft specifically targeting certain user behavior, like browsing in Incognito mode.

Right now, though, all anyone can say is that Microsoft is putting Edge in a position to measure to be able to measure these things. There’s no sign yet that it is acting on this data, nor dialing up its promotion of Edge beyond existing levels. As Windows Latest points out, a lot of this could just be used internally for understanding user trends.

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