All hail the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA), which in recent years has been used by the bloc to force various tech giants into being a little more considerate of consumers. The DMA's latest glorious victory comes against Microsoft which, ever since September 2023, has been designated by the EU commission as a "gatekeeper" thanks to Windows: meaning it has to publish yearly compliance reports about how it's adhering to its obligations under the DMA.
Which brings us to the good news. Microsoft has announced that, across the European Economic Area, Windows users will now have the option to uninstall the Microsoft Store. Should you choose to uninstall the Microsoft Store, any apps installed from it will remain and continue to be updated.
That's not all: users will also no longer get those constant irritating prompts asking them to make Microsoft Edge their default browser (it'll still do this if you open Edge, but by then you've made your choice). A knock-on effect is that other Windows functionality, like the Widgets Board and Lock Screen, will now play nicely with your default browser and open that rather than trying to sneak in Edge.
The various changes to Windows 10 and 11 within the EEA are outlined in full here. Let's breathe in that European air, because it smells good: "When Microsoft Edge is uninstalled, other Microsoft apps won’t prompt you to reinstall it in the EEA (excluding PWAs distributed in the Microsoft Store using Microsoft Edge technology)."
Jolly good show, wouldn't you say? These improvements to the user experience come after many more DMA-related concessions from Microsoft, including allowing users to uninstall Edge entirely and remove Bing results from Windows search. Microsoft even has to run its own DMA compliance website, where you can read all about the things it's done to promote "contestability and fairness in the digital sector."
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