In early March, Microsoft released an Edge update that led to out-of-memory (OOM) errors even on systems with more than enough system RAM. The company was forced to pull the update and later explained that it was a dying Defender feature that caused the OOM errors.
In less than a month, another buggy update hit Edge and this time, an 8KB entry of Microsoft Copilot was discovered in the list of installed apps of Windows 11. Again, the update was pulled when the media, including Neowin, started reporting about it.
This was another one of those little-known changes that Microsoft has been quietly pushing, like the new “UCPD Driver” that blocks registry hacks related to default app choices.
Microsoft has now confirmed that this is a bug, and it also added that the app is harmless because it doesn’t run any code in the background, and no user data is captured by it. in his health dashboard WebsiteThe company explains:
Updates to Edge browser version 123.0.2420.65, released on or after March 28, 2024, may incorrectly install a new package (MSIX) called ‘Microsoft Chat Provider for Copilot on Windows’ on Windows devices. As a result, the Microsoft Copilot app may appear in the Installed Apps menu in the Settings menu.
It’s important to note that Microsoft’s chat provider for Copilot on Windows does not execute any code or process, and does not acquire, analyze, or transmit device or environment data in any capacity.
This package is intended to prepare some Windows devices for future Windows Copilot activation and is not intended for all devices. Although the component installed as part of this issue can cause the Microsoft Copilot application to appear as part of the installed applications, this component does not fully install or enable Microsoft Copilot.
As part of the upcoming resolution of this issue, the chat provider for the Windows Copilot component will be removed from devices where Microsoft Copilot is not intended to be available or installed. This includes most Windows Server machines.
If this is true, it is certainly good news following the recent events about Windows 11 and the introduction of additional ads and promotions in the Start menu, which led the former head of Windows UX to express his disappointment in the matter. This was hot on the heels of another ex-engineer reading about the “bad” performance of Windows 11. However, the company is now testing more Copilot ads within Edge.