A hot potato: Chrome still dominates the browser market, and it looks like Google will do anything to keep it that way, including showing a security warning to users of Microsoft's Edge browser when they access the Chrome Web Store.

Edge has long lived in the shadow of Chrome, but Microsoft last year decided to rebuild its browser with the same Chromium platform used by Chrome, Opera, Vivaldi, and more. One of the benefits of this is that Edge is compatible with extensions designed for Chrome.

According to NetMarketShare, Chrome has a 67 percent share of the browser market, while Edge has just under 6 percent. Those figures would suggest Chrome has little to worry about from Edge, but it's still trying to lure users away from Microsoft's product.

As spotted by Windows Latest, whenever someone accesses the Chrome Web Store using Edge, they're met with a message that reads: "Google recommends switching to Chrome to use extensions securely." It's noted that the message doesn't appear when using other Chromium-based browsers.

Image credit: Windows Latest

The warning doesn't prevent Edge users from safely installing and running Chrome extensions, but it could convince some people to switch to team Google as a way of 'improving security,' even though both browsers use Chromium.

This sort of behavior isn't new. Google has shown similar warnings to Edge users who access its services in the past. Last year, the tech giant said it's not blocking Edge, but won't be whitelisting it until the browser comes out of beta. It's now out of beta, though the warnings are still appearing.

"Chrome? You don't want that. Try Edge, instead. It's much better, honest."

Microsoft isn't innocent when it comes to these sort of tactics, either. The company makes Edge the default browser in Windows and tries to dissuade users when they search for and install Chrome.