14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft Edge is now a Chromium-powered browser, so it’s running on the same engine as Google Chrome and a series of other applications like Vivaldi and Opera.
The transition from EdgeHTML to Chromium allowed Microsoft not only to make Edge a cross-platform browser, but also to enjoy all the benefits of a Chromium application, including access to Google Chrome’s vast extension ecosystem.
But as it turns out, despite using the same engine as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge still isn’t listed as a fully-compatible browser for the Chrome Web Store, with users recommended to change browsers whenever they attempt to install an extension.
Chromium browsers on the Chrome Web Store
If you load the official Chrome Web Store page in Microsoft Edge, you should be greeted with a message reading “Google recommends switching to Chrome to use extensions securely.” A link to download Google Chrome is also provided in the notification.
Needless to say, the message doesn’t show up in Google Chrome, but more surprising is that it also doesn’t in other browsers that are based on Chromium, including Opera and Vivaldi. So despite being based on the same engine, Microsoft Edge and the rest of the crowd are treated differently for some reason.
You can still ignore the notification and install extensions in Microsoft Edge just fine from the Chrome Web Store, albeit you do need to enable third-party store support from the browser itself.
As a matter of fact, Microsoft Edge comes with its very own extension store, and Microsoft recommends to first check this out before turning to third-party stores. The difference between this one and others is that it includes only high-quality extensions which are checked by Microsoft itself, so installing them shouldn’t expose your data to any risk. Of course, Google promises the same thing for the Chrome Web Store, so it’s all up to you to decide which store to use.
Via DeskModder