Forum Discussion
Ongoing sync between Microsoft Edge and Chrome - Discussion
Thanks for your feedback requesting the ability to have ongoing sync between Microsoft Edge and Chrome.
While we recognize this need, we’re currently focused on creating great 1st party sync experiences with your Microsoft account and Work or School account. If you are a Chrome user today, you already have option available to import all your data from Chrome to have Microsoft Edge personalized with all your browsing data.
If you are still looking for ongoing sync between Microsoft Edge and Chrome, please share some more details about your scenario.
- Why would you like an ongoing sync between the two? What problem would it solve for you?
- Do you expect to leverage this ongoing sync only for a short period of time (for instance during initial assessment of Microsoft Edge) or for long period (continue to use multiple browsers)?
- How would the absence of this ability change your perspective on Microsoft Edge adoption?
- Would the creation of a Chrome extension fulfil your requirement?
We will keep you updated as we better understand the needs of our community.
Thanks everyone for sharing your perspective on this topic. It is really helpful to see the sentiments and thoughts towards such a possibility. Please consider this thread closed for now. Stay assured, we are paying attention to everyone's requirements and concerns and are committed to doing the right thing for all of you.
180 Replies
- Looks like most users want the sync because Edge on Android is apparently not good enough for them to use?
so instead of implementing a sync, why not improve Edge Android/IOS to meet users needs?- You are right. I am surprised no one is suggesting this. Microsoft should work on increasing the adoption of Edge for Android instead of this.
akhator I need simply because I use Google Chrome on my android phone. It is my go-to default browser for all my android devices and I'm not yet planning to replace it.
On my desktop and laptops, however, I have decided to give Edge Chromium a try and have been enjoying it lately as my daily driver.
A complete browser-sync (bookmarks, history, password management, etc) would be a great deal for me and it might be the biggest factor I will need to consider if I'm staying with Edge Chromium or go back to Google Chrome.
This is a must-have feature.akhator Stay with your game plan to make Edge work flawlessly with our Microsoft account and other MS features and tools. Spend the time and resources on features that make Edge unique from Google Chrome. Work on making it the gold standard for other browsers to shot for. Also work on making it a top notch browser for all the other operating system. Making an extension for Chrome to make pulling in users info into Edge maybe a good idea but don't bake the function into Edge. If people really want this so badly maybe they should go to Google and have them develop it into Chrome.
- Yes, I tottaly agree with your explaination. Just focus on making edge the best and unique. If you add chrome's sync. It wouldn't make sense to have a microsoft account or chorme. They just use Chrome then. or just developing edge to be better at other operating systesm like Chrome OS if you realy need it.
Dear,
Thank for your listening
I've used chrome for years. Besides, I use android os which have chrome mobile. However, when Edge was released, I see many good feedback and I want to use Edge for short time at first (then I will consider to use it longer). And because I still use chrome in android mobile phone, I really want resync from Edge to chrome so that I can use the bookmark, auto fill, payments between all browsers. I also try some other chronium browser, It can sync very good between devices.
Please consider this function for Edge. Thank so much
Theanh0503 This is my exact situation too
- Edge has Edge mobile too. it uses the same engine and chrome.
just because Android force installs Chrome on every device doesn't mean we are locked and force to use it, we can disable it and use any other browser we want.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.emmx&hl=en_US
Also why Google shouldn't add Microsoft Edge sync support to their Chrome browser ??!
I prefer to continue using the Chrome on android rather than downloading Edge which is about 87MB. I would also like to keep some memory free and limit the number of apps installed.
Do you really think Google's Chrome would enable sync from Microsoft Edge and allow users to switch their browser?
But if Microsoft comes up with this feature, I believe more people would switch to Edge.
I really don't want the Edge we know to get lost in it's original purpose in this upgrade. If people want google Chrome features, then they should just use Chrome, not force Edge users upon a Chrome clone. Edge is special. It is a safe Microsoft browser. Leave Edge as Edge. Leave Google out of this. I really don't want to have to abandon Edge after all these years because of a great mistake.
I don't really like that idea. Just because Edge is switching to Chromium doesn't mean that they need to merge any further. Edge should remain Edge, not an Edge and Chrome hybrid. It just runs on Chromium, Edge should not associate with Google Chrome.
You completely missed the point of this feature. The point isn't the need to make Edge more like Chrome (as if anybody would think that), but rather to be able to access our browsing history from Edge to Chrome.
Why? Well first of all I'm not talking about desktop Chrome, I'm talking about mobile Chrome. Some people like me want to use Chrome on their phones while using Edge on their computer. And so if we want to access the webpage we just visited on our computer, we can't do that anymore.
Of course these are my own needs, but probably some people have similar needs too with their bookmarks.
- I say it is just another way Google is trying to get its claws into Edge. They were not successful in any other attempts at it so now lets try this way... I say Keep them OUT!!
Dennis5mile - Personally speaking , I don't see much value in sync with Google Account and if we do, then user will ask about how about Apple account and then how about... account and there would be loop of supporting others while there is need to do more for Microsoft Account.
However, I believe it could be interesting if there is some sort of cloud migration tools instead of sync profile. How it works, is user login with Microsoft Account and select retrieve data from Google Chrome and sign in with Google Chrome Account and then it retrieves these data from Google Cloud (the one are related to Google Chrome) to Microsoft Account and once it is done, the service automatically sign out from Google Account.
This is good let say for scenario like I bought new PC and it only has Microsoft Edge and I have my Google Account favorites in Google Chrome at work and I need to install Google Chrome and sync to get my data and then import them in Microsoft Edge and uninstall Google Chrome. This way, I directly get all my data without having to install Google Chrome once.
I remember, once I moved all of Gmail's email to Outlook.com using feature in Outlook.com to import emails and I did it once (it won't sync with Gmail) but user decided to completely using Outlook.com and has all Gmail's email there.- You are talking about a completely different thing that most people weren't even complaining about. It's not about syncing your Google accounts, it's about syncing our browsing history. I really couldn't care less about how it syncs (obviously the assumption is through your G-account), I just want to be able to see my browsing history. That is all.
Maybe there is a way to achieve that without getting google services involved, who knows.
I understand that a few users might need this syncing feature. However, I'm sure most of us would agree that the number of such users won't be many. On the contrary, many of us do not want any kind of Google's services incorporated in Microsoft Edge browser.
If users still want such features, third party extensions (like Pocket for example) can step in. Users can sign in to these extensions (available across both, Chrome and Edge) with a common account and get their sync.
This what what online accounts are meant for. This is what extensions are meant for: to add the features in a browser that only a few people want. If such features are in-built, we call them "bloatware". And Microsoft Edge browser bloated with Google's services? No thanks.
Hence, I'm convinced and strongly suggest that a Chrome extension would be the best option, and that too only if it's absolutely necessary to implement such a feature.
I agree that Microsoft must focus on improving sync with first party services. Edge is available on all major platforms. Hence, sync between Edge and Chrome will only hamper the adoption of Edge.
NamishB Most third-party chrome extensions synchronize through third-party storage.
First, third-party extensions that require third-party storage have a bad habit of disappearing. As anyone who has had to migrate their stuff off such systems when the company is failing, or simply when the company got acquired and the acquirer decides not to maintain the service, know this.
Furthermore, third party is unacceptable when some of the data that is being synchronized is sensitive. not necessarily passwords ( I don't save passwords and web browsers), but sometimes just the very bookmarks/favorites are sensitive. E.g. they might contain the names of not yet released products.
OK, that's solved by encryption. But then I need to verify that the third party extension encrypts properly when I first install the extension, does not provide the third-party the ability to decrypt. and furthermore you need to verify this every time the extension is released. That's a lot of overhead.
Yes: I work in security, and I work on things that need to be kept secret.
===
But: Google Chrome and MS Edge extensions that allowed the synchronization of bookmarks through files kept in the cloud such as Google Drive or MS OneDrive would be acceptable. I already have to trust Google and/or Microsoft.
"However, I'm sure most of us would agree that the number of such users won't be many."
I would suggest otherwise.
I'm sure most of us would also agree that the new chromium Edge is gaining more traction from Chrome users. Having that said, because more and more Chrome users are migrating to Chrome, some of these users:
- A) still use and prefer Chrome on their mobile devices, and therefore
- B) need to access their desktop browsing history on their phones
But obviously we can't do that anymore because we're using two different browsers.
"On the contrary, many of us do not want any kind of Google's services incorporated in Microsoft Edge browser."
Like what I said to HotCake, I'm not quite sure why you assumed that syncing implies the importation of google services. To me, syncing just means being able to see your ongoing browsing history (and/or bookmarks) from Edge to Chrome. If such a suggestion was phrased to explicitly mention syncing google services including extensions, then I would also have to object to that as well. I'm not looking for syncing extensions, in fact I dislike that feature from chrome.
"Hence, I'm convinced and strongly suggest that a Chrome extension would be the best option, and that too only if it's absolutely necessary to implement such a feature."
There's just only one (huge) problem with that: you can't install extensions on the mobile Chrome app. I don't believe that I am the only one who uses Edge on their computer while using Chrome on their phone.
In fact, if I could guesstimate, I would say that the majority of users who need this feature are because of this exact reason. On the other hand, I'm not sure why anyone would need to use both Chrome and Edge on their desktops simultaneously, but if such a use case exists, it's an obscure one (e.g. coding?).
Basically I am arguing that:
- this feature is essential for the above reasons, and
- that your suggestion is futile also for the above reasons
Obviously nobody really wants two completely different things mixed together, especially is they serve identical purposes. Please have an open mind and understand why such a feature is important to users who have just migrated from Chrome. I'm not going to tolerate opening every webpage from Edge to Chrome just because I want to view it on my phone/tablet.
