Microsoft has announced that it"s adding a new setting option to Teams called “Links in Teams” that lets you decide which browser to use when clicking non-Office and PDF links in Teams. This control allows you to ignore your mobile operating system defaults and choose an alternative browser. The Redmond giant, however, is not letting this opportunity to push Edge in your face slip by.
This option in Teams will be rolling out later this month and it will encourage users to switch to Microsoft Edge by highlighting its Single Sign-On and security features. Even if you do not go searching the settings for this feature, Microsoft will still force you to make a choice the first time you click on a non-Office or PDF link. Users will see a pop-up appear where they can choose another browser for opening these links. Microsoft also said that it is tracking user satisfaction, Microsoft Edge installation rates, and retention.
In a screenshot of this feature, the user is presented with the choice of using Microsoft Edge (even if it is not installed) or their default browser. Interestingly, Microsoft doesn’t like alternatives like Chrome, Firefox, or Vivaldi if they are not installed. If you do press Microsoft Edge and don’t have it installed then Teams will trigger a secondary prompt that will direct you to your app store to install Edge. If you want to change the setting later, head to the “Links in Teams” section within Teams’ settings menu.
Microsoft notes that admins can use PowerShell to manage the availability of this setting in Teams. The LinksInTeams attribute can be changed via the TeamsMobilityPolicy. To stop the prompts and return to standard OS behavior, admins must change the setting from OfferBrowserOptions to UseSystemDefaults.
With this change, users will notice more friction when attempting to access web content. The change will also likely frustrate users who already have a workflow that they’re happy with. While most users will be annoyed by this extra prompt, Microsoft is still keen to track what happens to see whether they can get people to install Edge and stick with it. For organizations, this change is an extra layer of telemetry that they need to look at as it may conflict with existing corporate browser standards.
The rollout is expected to complete by the end of February for worldwide, DoD and GCC customers at the same time. IT departments are told to prepare for helpdesk queries from users who may be confused by the behavior when clicking links. If you want to change this nuisance of a feature, an admin must configure the PowerShell policies before the deadline. If no action in taken, the nag screen will become standard for all Teams users in the organization.
You can learn more in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center under message ID MC1216263.