Microsoft is making it easy to set default apps in Windows 11

Since its release in 2021, one of the most consistent criticisms of is . Compared to Windows 10, the newer operating system makes it more complicated for users to move away from the company’s first-party offerings. For example, if you don’t want Edge to open every time you click on a web page or PDF, you’re forced to launch the Windows 11 settings menu and change the default app by file type and connection. This is an unnecessarily long process that makes customizing Windows 11 complicated.

Microsoft is finally addressing some of these criticisms. IN Friday (via ), the company said it “affirms our long-standing approach to putting people in control of their Windows PC experience.” Microsoft has announced a feature it says will ensure Windows 11 users control changes to their apps’ default settings. Later this year, the company will introduce a new Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) for deep links, which will allow developers to send users to the correct section of the settings menu when they want to change how Windows 11 responds to specific links and file types.

Microsoft says it will also give users more control over what apps pin to their desktop, Start menu and taskbar with a new public API that will prompt you to grant permission to programs before show these interface elements. Both features will first roll out to PCs signed up to the Windows Insider developer channel in the coming months before arriving in the public version of Windows 11. Notably, Microsoft says it will “lead by example” and release updates for Edge, which will see the browser add support for these features as they become available.