Windows 11 to make it easier to change default browsers

Reports surfaced in August that Microsoft's upcoming release of Windows 11 will make it harder to switch default browsers.

In a latest statement to The Verge, Microsoft said: "In the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22509 released to the Dev Channel on Wednesday, we streamlined the ability for a Windows Insider to set the 'default browser' to apps that register for HTTP:, HTTPS:, .HTM, and .HTML".

"Through the Windows Insider Programme, you will continue to see us try new things based on customer feedback and testing," the company added.

Rafael Rivera, developer of the excellent EarTrumpet Windows app, first spotted the new Windows 11 changes.

Microsoft is still testing these new Windows 11 changes that make it easier to switch default apps and browsers.

The tech giant is also displaying new prompts to Windows 10 and Windows 11 users, discouraging them from installing Google's browser Chrome and install its own Edge browser instead.

Some of the prompts, first reported by Neowin, include messages like "Microsoft Edge runs on the same technology as Chrome, with the added trust of Microsoft."