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Edge Canary Flags Hint Windows 11 Search May Respect Default Browser and Search Engine

The behavior mirrors the EEA experience, remaining an unconfirmed Canary experiment.

Overview

  • New Edge Canary flags reference Windows Search handing off queries using a user's chosen browser and search provider instead of forcing Edge and Bing.
  • Reporters observed flags including msWSBLaunchNonBingDSE, msWSBLaunchNonEdgeDB, and combined variants that suggest support for both defaults at once.
  • Today in non-EEA markets, taskbar and Start menu web searches still open Microsoft Edge and Bing regardless of user settings.
  • A separate flag, msEdgeSearchboxHandlerSendsFaviconData, indicates Windows Search could receive accurate favicons to improve result recognition.
  • Microsoft has not confirmed rollout plans or regions, so the functionality could change or remain limited to testing despite the EEA precedent.