Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge Browsers Bring Back Default Search Engine Removal Feature Amid Widespread Criticism / World of Digital Information
Web browsers are a really crucial aspect of how people spend their time on the internet and access the websites that matter most to them. While Google Chrome has been the biggest name in the browser industry for quite some time now, suffice it to say that Microsoft Edge did a bit to reduce Chrome’s monopoly and many users flocked to it because it offered certain features and benefits that Chrome didn’t.
Recent Chrome and Edge updates have caused some uproar though, as they both had a similar change that many users didn’t like at all. This change was that users could no longer remove the search engines that each browser included by default. Previously, users had full control over the search engines built into their Chrome or Edge browsers. However, Chrome 97 and Edge 97 no longer made this possible, as users could only edit these search engines instead of removing them.
Suffice it to say, most users were deeply unhappy with it, because it’s the kind of thing that could potentially prevent them from having real control over the browsers they tried to use. This feature has been rolled out to both browsers as they are both built with the Chromium platform, so many updates between them are shared to one degree or another.
With all of that said and now out of the way, it’s important to note that these changes may actually be an error resulting from Chrome’s attempt to simplify its search engine page. One of the reasons this happened may be that they were trying to make it harder for malicious actors to hijack search engines, and now that this error has been noted, both browsers will roll back the change in future releases so that users can remove default search engines again.
Another potential reason for this change may have been accidental deletions from search engines. Chrome will now prompt users to ensure the deletion is intentional so that users don’t end up without their search engine of choice. It’s definitely a much more sensible way to go about it, and it’s something most users would appreciate.
Chrome 98 was released on February 1, with Chrome 99 slated for release exactly one month after that date. Therefore, users can rejoice in knowing that in just a few weeks they will once again have full control of the default search engines on their favorite browsers. It’s often feared that a browser could take over without users realizing it, and the quiet nature of this update in Chrome 97 certainly surprised quite a few users.
However, now that the change is reversed, it looks like Chrome and Edge may start competing for the top spot in the browser world again.
Read next: Chrome gives users better control over extension permissions