While Chrome is the market leader, Microsoft is instead actively targeting Mozilla’s Firefox browser. Windows 10 users can now see an ad in a service they use every day. In the Start menu, users can now see Chromium Edge ads. Many users hate ads appearing in Windows 10 but it makes sense for Microsoft to pitch its own services. Of course, you can choose to disable the ads if you want. What’s interesting here is Microsoft is actively calling Firefox out in these ads. According to a screenshot posted on reddit, Microsoft is declaring war on Firefox. “Still using Firefox? Microsoft Edge is here,” the Start menu message reads.
Reaction
Honestly, I expected some backlash against this kind of advertising. It seems Microsoft including an option to turn off ads as eased the concerns of users. In fact, many on the reddit page were fine with the ad and even said they had already switched to Edge. For what its worth, if you do want to stop these ads appearing in your Start menu, you can turn them off via Settings > Personalization > Start > Show suggestions occasionally in Start. It will be interesting to see if Mozilla replies to Microsoft’s new tactic. The open source Firefox browser is the second most widely used on the market. Microsoft is clearly aiming to overtake Firefox before it sets its sites on the more impossible task of competing with Chrome.
