32 ms·

Microsoft forcing Edge browser webview on Outlook for Android app users

42 points by alok-g 6y ago

alok-g 6y ago
Here are excerpts from my communication with support on the issue. The paragraphs starting with >> are written by me. >> How to open links in external default browser directly >> Details: For the last few updates, when I click links in an email, Outlook app first opens the links in an embedded browser, which then has a menu command to open in (an external) browser. I would like to open in the default browser directly like it used to be before. Thanks. Due to the new Edge Webview feature that is rolling out, links open in the app, but we are listening to your feedback! Feel free to help us make Outlook better by suggesting it as a feature if you think that would be a nice addition. Just go to Settings -> Help and Feedback -> Suggest a Feature. Developments are made based on the statistics generated by the users in this area, so don't forget to voice your wishes there! Thanks! Bye! >> Edge webview may be rolling out, but that is no reason for Microsoft to impose Edge browser onto users. My preferred choice for browser is not Edge. >> Why should this thing even be under suggest a feature? I am not asking for a feature. I am asking what Microsoft is imposing as a 'feature' onto the users to be taken out. >> https://outlook.uservoice.com/forums/293346-outlook-for-android/suggestions/39984514-add-a-setting-to-disable-this-new-built-in-browser https://outlook.uservoice.com/forums/293346-outlook-for-andr... >> https://www.reddit.com/r/Outlook/comments/hndgxn/outlook_for_android_web_links_not_using_default/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Outlook/comments/hndgxn/outlook_for... >> I guess it's getting into the old habits, hmm! Sincere apologies for any inconvenience this problem has caused you. At the moment, all the links will open in the "Edge Browser" an inbuilt browser of the Outlook Mobile app. To view the links on your default web browser you need to tap on "3 Dots" at the bottom and tap on "Open in my browser" However, I believe this is a great suggestion hence I do recommend that you suggest this feature on the direct channel which directly reviewed by the development team. Developments are made based on the statistics generated by the users in this area, so don't forget to voice your wishes there! Just tap the App Settings Help and Feedback Suggest a Feature page. Vote it up! We might not have all the features you are looking for but we are getting there slowly. >> No, Outlook for Android was already opening links in the browser of my choice. It's getting 'away' from that. Just because Edge browser is rolling out! That has been changed, but we may have the feature back per users' requests!
GekkePrutser 6y ago
Microsoft is so aggressive pushing edge. Not just at consumers but at work as well. Personally I don't see the benefit since it's become a Chrome clone, why not use the real Chrome if you want it. Though I'm a Firefox person. But for me personally MS has proven not being able to handle a browser monopoly with IE which became stale when they reached that goal. I don't want to support them getting there again.
- pjmlp 6y ago
  Because it uses the Chrome rendering engine alongside Windows specific features. It is much more than just a Chrome clone.
  - pojntfx 6y ago
    One might even say they've ... embraced & extended it?
    - emteycz 6y ago
      A rare special case where even the extinguish part is welcome
      - pojntfx 6y ago
        How so? Chromium is the single most important reason Linux is now a viable desktop option, with even all of the M$ Office apps, Outlook etc. working as PWAs. Not to speak of i.e. Discord, WhatsApp, Slack, Teams ...
        pjmlp 6y ago
        The Web is the reason why Linux desktop doesn't matter at all, as proven by ChromeOS. Android and WebOS. Whatever kernel is running under the browser is meaningless to userspace. Hence why many just get whatever Electron apps one throws at them.
AndrewDucker 6y ago
I don't really care that it's Edge they're using. But I do really object to applications that open links internally rather than in my browser. Where my cookies and bookmarks and passwords are. And I'm already logged in to the sites I use most.
- lol768 6y ago
  They can do this in a way that preserves your cookies, bookmarks etc by using the custom tabs API and it'll even respect your browser choice (e.g. it works with Firefox).
- shtam 6y ago
  Particularly annoyingly, my password manager (Lastpass) stops working, as it thinks the website context is a Microsoft domain, so suggests irrelevant usernames/passwords. To be fair the same happens with any app that does this (e.g. LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook), so maybe it's Lastpass's bug. But I get zero value from the captured webview, so on balance I'd strongly prefer if app developers stopped doing this.
  - jlokier 6y ago
    Although it's annoying for logins, I really like that LinkedIn doesn't seem to retain cookie state in its in-app browser. It's a bit like using a private browsing window. Every time I go to something from LinkedIn, it asks me for permission to hold cookies all over again, and this gives me confidence that the site isn't getting any cookies, and my logged in identity on Google (in my regular browser) isn't being tracked by the visited site. It was annoying when I wanted to follow links to my regular browser, until I noticed that from the WebView there's a way to "share" to another browser (and also an "open in Firefox Focus"), and I can take it forward from there if I want.
nsonha 6y ago
To play the devil's advocate here. There are many app that have the option for opening link in them (facebook, twitter, reddit, the HN client Materialistic...). The reason for that I'm guessing is that when you are in the "reading mode" which can be the case for links in email, you don't want to go to another app an back, you just want to read/skim the thing and go back to your master view with the rest of the emails. In addition, actually think this is a good thing to shield user from tracking and unintended authorization. You're just one more touch away if you really need to be logged in some services.
- Ntrails 6y ago
  I wish there was a way to disable "WOULD YOU RATHER USE THE APP OR CONTINUE IN YOUR BROWSER" popup forever. It's a webpage. I'm going to open it like a webpage
- Symbiote 6y ago
  I think a good part of the reason is so Facebook/Twitter/Reddit/Metiralistic can continue to track the user. I want everything to open in Firefox on Android, so uBlock etc can operate as normal. I don't know how it works, but often pressing "back" takes me back to my email etc, leaving other open Firefox tabs as they were.
  - 0xdeadb00f 6y ago
    I don't think Materialistic uses it to track users. The browser tab on the side, is quite handy for switching between article and comments. It's just a good feature, and they don't roll their own Webview either. It's open source too: https://github.com/hidroh/materialistic https://github.com/hidroh/materialistic
- andybak 6y ago
  > you don't want to go to another app and back Why would the user care? Switching to your default browser on mobile is usually instantaneous. I.e. there's no downside compared to launching a webview.
SimeVidas 6y ago
What if Edge isn’t installed? Or does the the Outlook app include Edge in the app itself just for that webview? The Outlook app is 60 MB, Edge is 70 MB.
WhyNotHugo 6y ago
Gmail does the same on iOS. And they also lie about it. On iOS, it prompts if you want to either download Chrome, or use Safari. If you tap safari, it doesn't open safari, but a webview inside Gmail. Note that, while the rendering engine is the same, an app can't spy on my navigation on safari, but it _can_ on a webview it spawned.
- ethansinjin 6y ago
  Gmail on iOS uses SFSafariViewController, which runs in a separate process from Gmail.app and can’t be interacted with, unlike WKWebview. My guess is that they ran metrics and decided that keeping users in the Gmail app window led to longer engagement than opening Safari..
mumblerino 6y ago
The rendering engine of a webview is irrelevant to the end user, Edge is just as capable. What I hate is that all of these apps unnecessarily wrap a web view at all. I’m surprised that Apple allows Google and Facebook to break the native browser experience for no good reason. I hope Apple starts blocking this and Android follows suit.

42 points by alok-g 6y ago

Here are excerpts from my communication with support on the issue. The paragraphs starting with >> are written by me. >> How to open links in external default browser directly >> Details: For the last few updates, when I click links in an email, Outlook app first opens the links in an embedded browser, which then has a menu command to open in (an external) browser. I would like to open in the default browser directly like it used to be before. Thanks. Due to the new Edge Webview feature that is rolling out, links open in the app, but we are listening to your feedback! Feel free to help us make Outlook better by suggesting it as a feature if you think that would be a nice addition. Just go to Settings -> Help and Feedback -> Suggest a Feature. Developments are made based on the statistics generated by the users in this area, so don't forget to voice your wishes there! Thanks! Bye! >> Edge webview may be rolling out, but that is no reason for Microsoft to impose Edge browser onto users. My preferred choice for browser is not Edge. >> Why should this thing even be under suggest a feature? I am not asking for a feature. I am asking what Microsoft is imposing as a 'feature' onto the users to be taken out. >> https://outlook.uservoice.com/forums/293346-outlook-for-android/suggestions/39984514-add-a-setting-to-disable-this-new-built-in-browser https://outlook.uservoice.com/forums/293346-outlook-for-andr... >> https://www.reddit.com/r/Outlook/comments/hndgxn/outlook_for_android_web_links_not_using_default/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Outlook/comments/hndgxn/outlook_for... >> I guess it's getting into the old habits, hmm! Sincere apologies for any inconvenience this problem has caused you. At the moment, all the links will open in the "Edge Browser" an inbuilt browser of the Outlook Mobile app. To view the links on your default web browser you need to tap on "3 Dots" at the bottom and tap on "Open in my browser" However, I believe this is a great suggestion hence I do recommend that you suggest this feature on the direct channel which directly reviewed by the development team. Developments are made based on the statistics generated by the users in this area, so don't forget to voice your wishes there! Just tap the App Settings Help and Feedback Suggest a Feature page. Vote it up! We might not have all the features you are looking for but we are getting there slowly. >> No, Outlook for Android was already opening links in the browser of my choice. It's getting 'away' from that. Just because Edge browser is rolling out! That has been changed, but we may have the feature back per users' requests!

GekkePrutser 6y ago

Microsoft is so aggressive pushing edge. Not just at consumers but at work as well. Personally I don't see the benefit since it's become a Chrome clone, why not use the real Chrome if you want it. Though I'm a Firefox person. But for me personally MS has proven not being able to handle a browser monopoly with IE which became stale when they reached that goal. I don't want to support them getting there again.

pjmlp 6y ago
Because it uses the Chrome rendering engine alongside Windows specific features. It is much more than just a Chrome clone.
- pojntfx 6y ago
  One might even say they've ... embraced & extended it?
  - emteycz 6y ago
    A rare special case where even the extinguish part is welcome
    - pojntfx 6y ago
      How so? Chromium is the single most important reason Linux is now a viable desktop option, with even all of the M$ Office apps, Outlook etc. working as PWAs. Not to speak of i.e. Discord, WhatsApp, Slack, Teams ...
      - pjmlp 6y ago
        The Web is the reason why Linux desktop doesn't matter at all, as proven by ChromeOS. Android and WebOS. Whatever kernel is running under the browser is meaningless to userspace. Hence why many just get whatever Electron apps one throws at them.

AndrewDucker 6y ago

I don't really care that it's Edge they're using. But I do really object to applications that open links internally rather than in my browser. Where my cookies and bookmarks and passwords are. And I'm already logged in to the sites I use most.

lol768 6y ago
They can do this in a way that preserves your cookies, bookmarks etc by using the custom tabs API and it'll even respect your browser choice (e.g. it works with Firefox).
shtam 6y ago
Particularly annoyingly, my password manager (Lastpass) stops working, as it thinks the website context is a Microsoft domain, so suggests irrelevant usernames/passwords. To be fair the same happens with any app that does this (e.g. LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook), so maybe it's Lastpass's bug. But I get zero value from the captured webview, so on balance I'd strongly prefer if app developers stopped doing this.
- jlokier 6y ago
  Although it's annoying for logins, I really like that LinkedIn doesn't seem to retain cookie state in its in-app browser. It's a bit like using a private browsing window. Every time I go to something from LinkedIn, it asks me for permission to hold cookies all over again, and this gives me confidence that the site isn't getting any cookies, and my logged in identity on Google (in my regular browser) isn't being tracked by the visited site. It was annoying when I wanted to follow links to my regular browser, until I noticed that from the WebView there's a way to "share" to another browser (and also an "open in Firefox Focus"), and I can take it forward from there if I want.

nsonha 6y ago

To play the devil's advocate here. There are many app that have the option for opening link in them (facebook, twitter, reddit, the HN client Materialistic...). The reason for that I'm guessing is that when you are in the "reading mode" which can be the case for links in email, you don't want to go to another app an back, you just want to read/skim the thing and go back to your master view with the rest of the emails. In addition, actually think this is a good thing to shield user from tracking and unintended authorization. You're just one more touch away if you really need to be logged in some services.

Ntrails 6y ago
I wish there was a way to disable "WOULD YOU RATHER USE THE APP OR CONTINUE IN YOUR BROWSER" popup forever. It's a webpage. I'm going to open it like a webpage
Symbiote 6y ago
I think a good part of the reason is so Facebook/Twitter/Reddit/Metiralistic can continue to track the user. I want everything to open in Firefox on Android, so uBlock etc can operate as normal. I don't know how it works, but often pressing "back" takes me back to my email etc, leaving other open Firefox tabs as they were.
- 0xdeadb00f 6y ago
  I don't think Materialistic uses it to track users. The browser tab on the side, is quite handy for switching between article and comments. It's just a good feature, and they don't roll their own Webview either. It's open source too: https://github.com/hidroh/materialistic https://github.com/hidroh/materialistic
andybak 6y ago
> you don't want to go to another app and back Why would the user care? Switching to your default browser on mobile is usually instantaneous. I.e. there's no downside compared to launching a webview.

SimeVidas 6y ago

What if Edge isn’t installed? Or does the the Outlook app include Edge in the app itself just for that webview? The Outlook app is 60 MB, Edge is 70 MB.

WhyNotHugo 6y ago

Gmail does the same on iOS. And they also lie about it. On iOS, it prompts if you want to either download Chrome, or use Safari. If you tap safari, it doesn't open safari, but a webview inside Gmail. Note that, while the rendering engine is the same, an app can't spy on my navigation on safari, but it _can_ on a webview it spawned.

ethansinjin 6y ago
Gmail on iOS uses SFSafariViewController, which runs in a separate process from Gmail.app and can’t be interacted with, unlike WKWebview. My guess is that they ran metrics and decided that keeping users in the Gmail app window led to longer engagement than opening Safari..

mumblerino 6y ago

The rendering engine of a webview is irrelevant to the end user, Edge is just as capable. What I hate is that all of these apps unnecessarily wrap a web view at all. I’m surprised that Apple allows Google and Facebook to break the native browser experience for no good reason. I hope Apple starts blocking this and Android follows suit.