Over the weekend, Microsoft Rewards removed the “Edge Search” worth 20 points a day, causing outrage and confusion among users. Earlier today, several Microsoft Rewards quests were also reduced to a single digit, leading some to believe the program could be shut down, but that’s far from the truth.
In a conversation with Windows Latest, Microsoft officials clarified the Rewards program is here to stay, but the program is regularly being “evolved” to “reflect our growth and expansion”. This seems to imply the changes are intentional and could be linked to the recent expansion of the Rewards program in new regions.
“Over the last few years, the Microsoft Rewards program has regularly evolved to reflect our growth and expansion. We evaluate every change for consistency and fairness, tuning the methods and frequency through which our members can earn points,” a Microsoft representative told me over email.
“Whether searching with Bing, browsing with Edge, playing on Xbox, or making purchases in the Microsoft store, we know our members take delight in the added incentive the Microsoft Rewards program offers. We aim to grow in ways that continue to provide value to our members, and we eagerly monitor feedback to ensure satisfaction. We appreciate the enthusiasm and loyalty of our Microsoft Rewards members and remain excited for the program’s future,” the company added.
Our readers observed that not only were the Microsoft Edge search points removed from the Rewards program, but also the script blocking, detecting, and the cooldown between searches were affected.
On Reddit, several users expressed their disappointment with missing Edge points in Microsoft Rewards and planned to switch to other browsers as a form of protest.
“Just remove the program at this point… (I’m tired of having so much nerfs since June…). 1350 there, 3000 there, 1200 there, 500 here, 360 there, 2500 there, 400 here, another 400 there, 1040 there, 200 here,” a frustrated Microsoft Rewards user wrote in a Reddit post.
One user said they plan to use Chrome again, while another mentioned moving back to Firefox, citing upcoming changes in Chrome regarding ad blockers.
Another user pointed out that the extra 20 points significantly motivated using Edge. Without it, they would switch to other browsers until the points specific to Edge were reinstated.
Microsoft may not reinstate the Edge reward points for now, but the plans could change if there’s enough protest in the community.