Microsoft Rewards now offers points for browsing

Sep 13, 2016 09:17 GMT  ·  By

The software giant has rebranded Bing Rewards to “Microsoft Rewards” in an attempt to show that this program isn’t only limited to its search engine, and as part of the change, the firm is also introducing support for Edge browser available in Windows 10.

Specifically, this means that if you use Microsoft Edge in Windows 10, you can be rewarded with points that can be used for getting movies, apps, games, and other goodies from Microsoft itself.

So how’s this going to work? As BI has sharply noticed, you need to register for an account on Microsoft Rewards and then start using Edge as your main browser. You can’t simply launch and let it run in the background, you have to actually be using it in order to get rewards. And additionally, Bing must be your default search engine during the whole time.

Microsoft will then keep an eye on your browsing habits and provide you with reward points that can be then converted to actual stuff. The company guarantees that no personal information is collected when analyzing your browsing, so your privacy isn’t violated in any way.

Only available in the US

Unfortunately, even though Bing Rewards has a new name and Microsoft Edge is included in the program, there are some things that didn’t change. For instance, you still can’t participate in the program if you’re living outside the United States, which is quite a shame given that there are so many people out there using Edge and Bing as default.

On the other hand, this is a nice effort from Microsoft to boost adoption of its Edge browser, and it could really help the firm given the fact that it’s only available on Windows 10.

With Microsoft Rewards, more users could be convinced to give Edge a try, and since the browser is only available on Windows 10, this implies moving to the new OS. Microsoft is clearly aiming big with this program and, in the end, Windows 10 is the one that’s benefitting the most.