Microsoft Edge claims to compare shop prices & offer best one.

Molehusband

I don't normally use Microsoft Edge but opened it recently and it greeted me with some sort of "best prices" promise. It claimed that if I was viewing the website of a merchant for a particular product it would automatically provide me prices of the product offered by competing merchants and show me the best price. I didn't have to to follow-up on this amazing offer and next time I opened Microsoft Edge I couldn't find this "best prices" offer again.

Can anyone tell me if this "best prices" message was genuine and, if so, how do I activate it?

Jenni_D

Sounds like a browser add-on/extension has been installed - may be one of those in the link below:

https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/browser-extensions-apps-save-money-holiday-season/

Look to the right of your address bar - do you see a shape that looks like a jigsaw piece? If yes, click on that - this will show you active extensions and allow you to click on the Manage Extensions text. Once in that page you can see all installed extensions, turn off the ones to you don't want to use, and remove those you don't want at all.

If you don't see the jigsaw piece shape, click on the 3 dots and then select Extensions.  

forgotmyname

Microsoft were rolling it out. They are spying on you enough to know what your thinking of buying so why not
make some money offering prices for those items from advertisers.

Operating system with built in adverts what could possibly go wrong?

Molehusband

Jenni_D said:

Look to the right of your address bar - do you see a shape that looks like a jigsaw piece? If yes, click on that - this will show you active extensions and allow you to click on the Manage Extensions text. Once in that page you can see all installed extensions, turn off the ones to you don't want to use, and remove those you don't want at all.

If you don't see the jigsaw piece shape, click on the 3 dots and then select Extensions.  

Thanks for your helpful comment.

Unfortunately this MSE Forum is bizarre. I just spent several minutes following up on your helpful suggestion but it refused to post my comment, saying

You have to be around for a little while longer before you can post links.

I didn't post any link in my comment, but my comment just quoted your comment in full. Why is MSE putting in these stupid  restrictions when all I was doing was to quote your post? Now I've totally lost my reply to you 🤔

Le_Kirk

Because the link was in the post quoted, the same rules apply, just break the link by making it hxxps:// etc

flaneurs_lobster

Molehusband said:

I didn't post any link in my comment, but my comment just quoted your comment in full. Why is MSE putting in these stupid  restrictions when all I was doing w3as to quote your post? 

It's to stop spambots setting up brand new ids and covering the forum with links to guaranteed 100000% return crypotocurrency deals and the finest XXXX rated !!!!!!. 

It's a pretty standard feature of any public forum that allows new users to post. It's easily circumvented if you are a human.


Edit: there's also a filter that won't allow posting the word p0rn

RumRat

Molehusband said:

I don't normally use Microsoft Edge but opened it recently and it greeted me with some sort of "best prices" promise. It claimed that if I was viewing the website of a merchant for a particular product it would automatically provide me prices of the product offered by competing merchants and show me the best price. I didn't have to to follow-up on this amazing offer and next time I opened Microsoft Edge I couldn't find this "best prices" offer again.

Can anyone tell me if this "best prices" message was genuine and, if so, how do I activate it?

Reginald Molehusband

You can turn the service off an on in the Edge settings.....go to 'Privacy Search and Services' Scroll down to 'Services' and turn on off whatever you fancy or not in there.

Molehusband

Jenni_D said:

Sounds like a browser add-on/extension has been installed - may be one of those in the link below:

Link: You have to be around for a little while longer before you can post links

Look to the right of your address bar - do you see a shape that looks like a jigsaw piece? If yes, click on that - this will show you active extensions and allow you to click on the Manage Extensions text. Once in that page you can see all installed extensions, turn off the ones to you don't want to use, and remove those you don't want at all.

If you don't see the jigsaw piece shape, click on the 3 dots and then select Extensions.  

OK, I hope I've jumped the first hoop and now able to reply without the You have to be around for a little while longer before you can post links directive.

My Microsoft Edge doesn't show the jigsaw piece but has the 3 dots you refer to. However, I notice the Extensions is greyed out, so I currently haven't got any Extensions nor able to select any. But notice that Edge operates by having user codes for different Edge users with the default being "Guest". I've now learned to set up a "Personal" user which enables me to add Extensions. There's certainly a huge number of extensions related to "shopping price check" but currently I don't have any of them installed.

As I've forgotten the detail of that advert the other day for comparing prices I am still mystified as to what Edge was proposing to offer me.

Molehusband

RumRat said:

You can turn the service off an on in the Edge settings.....go to 'Privacy Search and Services' Scroll down to 'Services' and turn on off whatever you fancy or not in there.

Thanks, you're spot on, Under Services there is one called:

Save time and money with Shopping in Microsoft Edge

and I've turned it off!

Withbellson

I suggest utilising https://wpd.app to simplify the disabling of these unwanted intrusions, without having to find each individual privacy setting yourself.