When Brave handles microsoft-edge: protocol searches use user's default search instead of Bing

[bsclifton]

Description

Follow up to #13875

Searching in the built in Windows Search will direct queries to Brave when the microsoft-edge: protocol handler is setup 👍

However, it will always do a search using bing.com. We have the ability to intercept this and replace with the user's default search. For example, above search was resulting in this query:
https://www.bing.com/search?q=shoes&form=WNSGPH&qs=AS&cvid=d53e967be4de4c838b4d0acbdea846f6&pq=shoes&cc=US&setlang=en-US&nclid=D66578AD81C68AE27DB24A0A6978176D&ts=1629870667294&wsso=Moderate

Steps to Reproduce

1. Setup Brave as the protocol handler for microsoft-edge:
2. Do a search (Press Windows key, type shoes)
3. Click See web results

Actual result:

Query opens in Brave but opens using Bing

Expected result:

Query should open using the user's default search engine

[bsclifton]

Code to change would be in https://github.com/brave/brave-core/blob/master/browser/microsoft_edge_protocol_util.cc

We'd want to have some good unit test coverage when implemented 😄

[jonathansampson]

Great suggestion! We could probably drop most of those query-string values too (lang/regional parameters may be useful).

[bsclifton]

Good considerations here:
https://www.ctrl.blog/entry/anti-competitive-browser-edges.html

Work on this issue hasn't been planned (yet) - but if we do want to pick it up, let's get a privacy and security review (and sign off) before we start work

[ghost]

I would probably not want this feature, when I'm searching in Windows Search, I want the search results of Bing not anyone else, if I would, I would open Brave itself for the query, don't see this useful, but shout out 🙌 to Brave for adding support to microsoft-edge: link.

[Madis0]

Also, some Windows help links do open Bing instead of an article and the topmost "result card" shows the help material. Using any other search engine would not give that card (and may give different results overall), therefore increasing confusion.

I'd say if Brave wants to do something about this at all, it could be just removing any tracking parameters from the query.

[ghost]

Also, some Windows help links do open Bing instead of an article and the topmost "result card" shows the help material. Using any other search engine would not give that card (and may give different results overall), therefore increasing confusion.

Yes you're right here, when looking at certain results in Windows Search and different on Brave is something which'll just create confusion. I would want to stick with Brave's current state.

[bsclifton]

Closing as Windows has patched microsoft-edge protocol in Windows 11, claiming apps being able to service this is a bug