Microsoft pauses experiment with Windows window for promoting Bing

Microsoft has paused an experiment with a window that appeared above the taskbar in Windows 11 to promote Bing. Users of Google Chrome with Google as search engine were shown that window.

The pop-up urged users to set Bing as a search engine in Chrome, reports The Verge. It can be deduced that Microsoft has not only used data to deduce that users use Chrome, but also which search engine they have set in the Google browser.

The pop-up was also visible above the taskbar and also appeared while playing games in full screen. It is not a normal message and does not come from the Windows component that provides suggestions, but comes from an executable that can be found in the folder ‘c:\windows\temp\mubstemp’. Microsoft calls the notification ‘unintended behavior’. “We are aware of the reports and have paused reporting while we investigate them to take action.”

Bing popup in Windows 11. Source: Tom Warren/The Verge