Microsoft unties the built-in search function of Win11, and users in EEA area can use third-party engines such as Google and DuckDuckGo.

CTOnews.com, November 22 (Xinhua)-- Microsoft recently said that it has adjusted its Windows 11 system for users in the European Economic area (EEA) in order to meet the relevant provisions of the Digital Market Law.

IT House previously reported that Microsoft claimed that users in the European Economic area could uninstall most of the pre-installed applications such as Edge and Bing, and disable recommendation and advertising content, while Microsoft recently issued a press release, claiming that users in the European Economic area will be allowed to use Google, DuckDuckGo and other engines in the search functions built into Windows 11.

It is reported that Microsoft has made changes in Windows 11 23H2 Build 22631.2787, and users in the European Economic area can set up Windows's built-in search function to use other search engines.

Microsoft said the changes were expected to be rolled out to the Release Preview channel "within a few weeks" and would bring Windows 10 22H2 and Window 11 23H2 into compliance with the Digital Market Act in Europe by March 6, 2024.

According to Microsoft, users of the European Economic area can currently download and install the relevant App from Microsoft Store and add third-party search engines to the search bar. If users want to remove these third-party engines, they can delete them in the Windows settings.

CTOnews.com Note: EEA (European Economic area) includes the following countries:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. There are 30 countries in the EEA region.

Related reading: "Microsoft caters to the new EU rules and adjusts Win11,EEA users to uninstall Edge and disable Bing."