• Michael
• On December 20, 2017

Microsoft removes a Google app that redirects to the Chrome installation file

Yesterday, Google tried to publish something that looks like “an app” in the Microsoft App Store called ‘Google Chrome Installer’. Offering nothing more than a way to download Google Chrome without using Microsoft Edge or another browser, the Installer was quickly removed from Microsoft from the app store. Citing a violation of the Microsoft Store policy, the company explains that any app in the store should provide unique and distinct value to the customers, something that the Chrome Installer obviously could not as it was simply a web wrapper to download Chrome.

Microsoft also made clear that if Google wants to publish its Chrome browser in the Windows/Microsoft Store, it should use the EdgeHTML rendering engine, which is a prerequisite for any Store browser for Windows 10. Google relies on its own Blink engine for Chrome, just like Microsoft for Edge on Android.

For now, users on the Windows 10 S platform, that limits the app downloads only to the official Windows Store, can’t install Google Chrome or some other third-party browser that is using a different engine, or has no dedicated app in the store.