Overview
- Edge mobile is rolling out an in‑app referral program that grants 500 Microsoft Rewards points to both the referrer and an invited new user when the new user signs in and uses Edge or Bing for at least two days within their first two weeks.
- Referrers can collect up to 7,500 points per month and Microsoft’s redemption chart shows 5,000 points equals a $5 Microsoft gift card while 91,000 points equals a $100 gift card.
- The referral offer is being delivered gradually through notifications on Android and iOS so it is not visible to all users at once.
- Security researcher posts and reporting spotted a small 'Microsoft Recommended Search' utility on Microsoft’s download servers that can set Bing as the default across several browsers, and sources say it appears to be a standalone test artifact rather than a deployed Windows 11 feature.
- Online users have criticized the incentives as heavy‑handed, and the campaign could push some people to change browsers or platforms while drawing closer attention to how Microsoft tries to steer default search and browser settings.