Microsoft’s Update Decision—Google Disappears On PCs, Androids, iPhones

Republished on January 25th with new Microsoft “security nightmare” warning for all Windows users.

The fun and games between Microsoft and Google continues, and for its latest trick, the Windows-maker just made Google disappear. “New tactic just dropped,” complained one Google exec. “How low can they go!?”

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This appears to be the follow-up to Microsoft changing the look and feel of its Bing search results to mimic Google. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,” Chrome’s boss posted when that was outed. “But Microsoft spoofing the Google homepage is another tactic in its long history of tricks to confuse users & limit choice.”

That tactic was reversed, but now we have this new one. “Recently, we saw Microsoft tricking searchers into thinking they were searching in Google and not on Bing,” SEO Roundtable reported, when the latest ruse was first spotted. “Now, Bing is hiding the Google search results and placing when you search Bing for the term Google. Plus, Bing is showing a ‘Promoted by Microsoft’ search box.”

In essence, if you search for Google through Bing in your browser, you’ll see a “promoted by Microsoft” dropdown search box negating the need to click through to Google after all. “Bing is also testing a version with that Google looking logo again but not hiding the Google search listings below them.” I have approached Microsoft for any comment on this latest update and the response.

These updates might be wryly amusing, but the question remains whether they’re actually effective. Google dominates search and no-one has yet to make much of a dent. The real threat will come from AI changing the nature of search itself, not adjusting results appearances in a browser.

This isn’t the only trick doing the rounds at the moment. “Microsoft doesn’t want Google to dominate the search market and browser war,” Windows Latest reports, after spotting “Microsoft rolling out a server-side update that makes it slightly tricky to find the Chrome download link.. Microsoft shows a giant search bar when you search for Google Chrome on Bing.”

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For those watching from afar, Google and Microsoft taking swipes at one another even as they both dominate their respective domains will make for some interesting headlines.

Meanwhile, Bing’s invisibility cloak isn’t the only Microsoft update decision making headlines. We also have its new, controversial move to keep users logged into their accounts rather than signing in each time. This is a potential “security nightmare” when it comes to inadvertently leaving accounts exposed on shared or (worse) public computers without realizing. Users need to remember to use private browsing to ensure no risks — what could go wrong?

“The web browser sign-in experience is changing when you sign in to any product or service using your Microsoft account,” the company has confirmed. “Starting February 2025, you will stay signed in automatically unless you sign out or use private browsing… If you sign in on your own computer, your browser will remember your sign-in information, but if you sign in on a computer, phone or tablet that doesn’t belong to you, or is accessed by other people, you should follow the steps below to use a private browsing window instead. Private browsing ensures that others won’t be able to: Access your Microsoft account, OneDrive or Outlook.com mailbox; See your search and browsing history.”

Make sure you don’t forget…