Is Microsoft 'paying' people to use its Windows 10 browser Edge?

3 months ago

Back in 2010, Microsoft launched the Bing Rewards Program – where users had the chance to enjoy search credits that could be redeemed for gift cards, products or charitable donations in exchange for using its search engine Bing.

Six years later, the tech giant has announced it is rebranding Bing Rewards to become Microsoft Rewards and wants to “pay” you for using its new Windows 10 browser Edge.

In order to do that, Microsoft will actively monitor your Edge use for up to 30 hours a month – by tracking mouse movements and checking other signs to make sure you’re not trying to beat the system.

And oh, you must also have Bing set as your default search engine if you want to claim your reward points.

And once you accumulate the points, they can then be traded in for vouchers or credit for places such as Skype, Amazon, Starbucks and ad-free Outlook.com.

On top of that, shopping at the Windows or Microsoft Store when signed into a Microsoft account will also get you more points.

And for those who are worried about their Bing membership, all rewards will automatically update to Microsoft Rewards, so there will be no changes to make on your end.

However, the rewards scheme is only available in the US at the moment.

Microsoft once dominated the browser market with Internet Explorer, a predecessor to the Edge – but with Google’s Chrome and Mozilla’s Firefox rising to the forefront in the last 10 years, it failed to catch up with its rivals.

Microsoft launched Edge last year, with promise that its new browser would be faster, more battery efficient and all-round better than the others.

However it still only has a global market share of about 5%, based on research by Net Marketshare.