Microsoft has announced a new easy-to-use approach that gives people control over their Windows 11 preferences, like default apps, rather than being forced to use the company’s products or services.
Microsoft has been trying to force people to use its services and apps for too long. In a future update, Microsoft schedule to give users more control over default apps and preferences in Windows 11. Microsoft claims that the upcoming update is based on four approaches: transparency, user choice, user control, and privacy.
The company wants Windows 11 to be more user-friendly and more privacy-friendly. This process gives you more control over which apps are pinned to the taskbar. Similarly, you can now also easily control which apps can be set as default for actions or file types.
Deep link URI settings
The first new addition is “Settings deep link URI”, which aims to take users directly to the correct location in Settings when they click on a particular link (URI) in third-party apps.
For example, clicking a button to set Chrome as the default PDF reader takes you to the PDF tab of the default apps settings page.
This improves the existing ms settings: URI scheme.
New API for pinning apps to the taskbar
Microsoft is introducing a new API to give developers more access than pinning their app icons to the taskbar. When apps use this API, you will notice a unique Windows experience that prompts you to pin the app to the taskbar. This prompt confirms if a user wants to pin the app to the taskbar.
The said the head of the Windows Insider program that Microsoft considers it a “responsibility to ensure that users’ choices are respected,” which is surprising given how the company has pushed its Edge browsers to users by offering gift cards.
Windows 11 and 10 users have been exposed to tons of ads for Edge lately as the tech giant is determined to get people to use Edge instead of Chrome. In recent weeks, we’ve seen a spike in ad-related initiatives from Microsoft Edge, including half-page banners when attempting to download Edge.
Microsoft is also testing desktop ads that offer gift cards for using Edge’s new features. The company is urging users to try Edge Bar for three days for all their web needs and get a “gift card”.
We don’t know if Microsoft will stop aggressively promoting the browser, but the company has promised to give more control over default apps and preferences in the coming months.
