Microsoft is facing criticism from Windows 11 users who claim the company is blocking access to Google Chrome on their devices.
While headlines involving Chrome and Windows typically relate to security patches or updates, this situation has sparked wider concern, News.Az reports, citing Forbes.
Users report that Microsoft's operating system appears to be preventing installation or smooth operation of Chrome — the world's most widely used web browser — raising questions about software competition and user choice.
Although Microsoft has not officially confirmed or explained the issue, the reports have fueled frustration among users who see it as potential overreach by the tech giant.
Parental control software is designed to enable parents to protect their children from dangers, both perceived and very real, on the internet. Windows 11 has this functionality built into the operating system, through a feature called Microsoft Family Safety. This gives parent the ability to create what can be considered a safe environment for their children to browse the web, and this is accomplished by the use of content filtering. But what if that content filtering seemingly goes rogue? Scroll down for the reason why I don’t think that has happened in this case.
The issue was first reported June 3 by Windows 11 users on Reddit, and the complaints have continued to come in across various forums ever since. The problem appears to have started following the Google Chrome update to version 137.0.7151.68/69, since when users have reported that the browser will close down and then not reopen again when the Microsoft Family Safety feature is used. There do not appear to be any similar issues being reported from those using Microsoft Edge and parental controls.
While Google has published a support posting that acknowledges the problem, stating that it has “investigated these reports and determined the cause of this behavior,” as being “when Microsoft Family Safety is enabled,” Microsoft itself has made no public announcements.
