You’re getting Microsoft’s new Edge browser whether you like it or not. The company has announced that instead of a manual download, it will be pushing the Chromium-based variant out via Windows Update on January 15, 2020. Actually, there’s good news for those who aren’t interested: Microsoft has already published a Blocker Toolkit, which will prevent a machine from installing it. The browser can also be blocked by adding a registry key.
To help our customers become more secure and up-to-date, Microsoft will distribute Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) through Automatic Updates for Windows 10 version 1803 and newer. The Blocker Toolkit is intended for organizations that would like to block automatic delivery of Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) to machines in environments where Automatic Updates is enabled. The Blocker Toolkit will not expire.