I recently rebuilt my home computer with Windows 10 Anniversary Update. I use Chrome as my default browser but I typically have a second browser for testing websites and keeping another Gmail account open. That second browser is normally Firefox but they have been falling out of favor with Pocket integration, Firefox Hello, and other annoyances. As one less program to install, I decided I would try using Microsoft’s Edge browser. It really launched as a basic browser (Save As… wasn’t even an option until several months later) but it has gotten more and more caught up.
I was not asking a whole lot out of Edge and it was doing its job. I was still using Chrome as my primary browser when Edge started to annoy me. It would show these pop-ups from the Edge icon pinned to the Taskbar when I launched Chrome and put a “Tip” in the Notification Center. The pop-up is annoying and the Tip means a “1” sitting in the bottom right-corner Notification Center icon until I go and clear the message.
These “tips” provide “helpful” reasons why you should use Edge. The messages I have seen or heard others report include:
- Microsoft Edge is faster than Chrome – Based on Google’s Benchmark. Switch now. (This “tip” links to this Microsoft page.)
- Microsoft Edge is safer than Firefox – It blocks 21% more socially engineered malware. Learn more.
- Wanna earn while you browse? – Get free movies and games with Microsoft Edge. See how. (Microsoft’s Bing Rewards program.)
I might be able to stop the pop-ups by unpinning Edge from the Taskbar but that inconveniences me and would not stop the notification center “tips”. Instead, open Settings by clicking the Gear on the side of your Start Menu. Next, click System and from the left-side click “Notifications & actions”.
You will find a toggle under Notifications. Switch the toggle to Off for “Get tips, tricks, and suggestions as you use Windows”. That should resolve this annoyance until Microsoft comes out with another one.
