Microsoft mulls a way of punishing inactivated Windows 11 installations using its Edge browser

In a somewhat concerning development for people who are running Windows 11 without activating the OS, it appears that Microsoft is taking some initial steps - in testing - to punish those folks via its Edge browser.

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Punish them how, exactly? Essentially by blocking off all access to any settings in Edge for those who haven't activated their Windows 11 (or Windows 10) installation.

Windows Report (via TechRadar) picked up on the move Microsoft has made which is being tested in Edge (the Canary version of the browser in preview).

So, the broad idea is that while those with an inactivated copy of Windows 11 would still be able to use Edge just fine - and the OS for that matter (with the usual limitations of not activating, such as a lack of customization options, and nag screens) - they wouldn't be able to play with any settings.

Obviously that'd be a pretty major restriction, as it isn't often you can use a piece of software - especially one such as a browser - without wanting to tweak options here and there.

Of course, this is just a change in testing right now. There's a chance Microsoft is just experimenting with the idea, and it may never make it to the stable version of the Edge browser.

We shall see, but if the idea is to cajole folks into activating their Windows 11 or 10 installation, we suspect that the cattle prod being wielded here might just end up herding folks away from Edge and onto Chrome (or an alternative browser like Firefox or Opera).

In short, good luck with this one, Microsoft, if you do plough ahead with it. Then again, there probably aren't all that many inactivated Windows 11 installations out there, so the overall impact might be pretty limited anyhow.