No Bing, no Edge, no upselling: De-crufted Windows 11 coming to Europe soon

Enlarge / Users in the extended European Economic Area will soon be able to avoid most of the things that feel so exhausting about Windows 11. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

Using Windows these days means putting up with many, many pitches to use and purchase other Microsoft products. Some are subtle, like the built-in Edge browser suggesting you use its “recommended settings” after each major update. Some are not so subtle, like testing a “quiz” that made some users explain why they’re trying to quit the OneDrive app.

Those living in the European Economic Area (EEA)—which includes the EU and adds Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway—will soon get the volume turned down on their Windows 11 systems. To meet the demands of the European Commission’s Digital Markets Act—slated to be enforced in March 2024—Microsoft must make its apps easier to uninstall, its default settings easier to change, and its attempts at steering people toward its services easier to avoid.

Microsoft writes in a blog post that many of these changes will be available in a preview update of Windows 11 (version 23H2) this month. Windows 10 will get similar changes “at a later date.” A couple of changes affect all Windows 10 and 11 users: