# Microsoft Edge 102 Hacker News commenters recommended Microsoft Edge and 226 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 13 months. **Verdict:** A Chromium browser that keeps Chrome compatibility while adding strong vertical tabs, good speed and uBlock-friendly extensions, though Microsoft pushes Bing, Copilot and telemetry hard. ## Why people recommend it - Chrome compatibility without Google (5 comments): "with Chrome and Edge I have support of newest web APIs rather with Firefox and Safari don't" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48539983)) "It's basically chrome but without the 'make this your default browser' shenanigans." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49517180)) "Edge is actually decent product and viable replacement for Chromium based browsers" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46893542)) - Ad blocking and extensions work (4 comments): "The Edge browser for has the best ad-free experience I've found so far on Android." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49306290)) "I use Edge as my default browser, with uBlock installed and it all seems to work." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47502914)) "I switched from chrome to edge so I can continue using ublock origin" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48472663)) - Fast performance (3 comments): "I liked a few of its built-in features, and it felt pretty fast. But then they started tricking me into changing my default search engine to Bing." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47344683)) "a proof of concept port of Microsoft edge to IOS significantly outperformed safari" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50087769)) "It was faster than Google Chrome and had some unique features" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46145708)) - Best vertical tabs implementation (2 comments): "The sweet spot for me is vertical tabs that autohide into a narrow strip of icons until hovered over" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48631283)) "They have what I think is the best implementation of vertical tabs" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48017666)) ## What people warn about - Pushes Bing, Copilot and services (5 comments): "Edge is better, with only downside is that MS keep pushing Bing on its users." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48451775)) "I liked a few of its built-in features, and it felt pretty fast. But then they started tricking me into changing my default search engine to Bing." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47344683)) "Whoever curates the Edge homepage knows they have mere seconds to capture a new recruit before they manage to escape to a different browser." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49883433)) - Telemetry and privacy concerns (4 comments): "all your searches, preferences and and browsing history is linked to your Microsoft + Windows account so you can be targeted by ads better" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48481729)) "Microsoft repurposed Google's adware in Chrome into Edge telemetry/spyware to feed your browsing directly into windows telemetry" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49223610)) "Allow Microsoft to save your browsing activity including history, usage, favourites, web content, and other browsing data" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48816077)) - Forced on Windows and work users (4 comments): "i cannot even enable Backspace = go back on Edge. I am forced to use Edge on my work computer and i hate that this feature is gone." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49483352)) "Microsoft has also tried hard to push Edge, annoying nearly every Windows user on the planet, with no real success." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46893346)) "forcing edge on me constantly to the point where even when I change the default browser, things still load in edge" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50036436)) ## Alternatives hackers recommend - [Google Chrome](https://hackerapproved.com/p/google-chrome.md): 503 recommend - [Zen Browser](https://hackerapproved.com/p/zen-browser.md): 141 recommend - [Vivaldi](https://hackerapproved.com/p/vivaldi-browser.md): 134 recommend - [qutebrowser](https://hackerapproved.com/p/qutebrowser.md): 11 recommend - [Perplexity Comet](https://hackerapproved.com/p/comet.md): 9 recommend ## Cite as Hacker Approved, "Microsoft Edge", https://hackerapproved.com/p/microsoft-edge/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).