Current-era Microsoft continuing to push the boundaries of consent.
Microsoft Edge is a good browser but for some reason Microsoft keeps trying to shove it down everyone’s throat and make it more difficult to use rivals like Chrome or Firefox. Microsoft has now started notifying IT admins that it will force Outlook and Teams to ignore the default web browser on Windows and open links in Microsoft Edge instead.
It's possible to uninstall it (and many other things like Cortana) through the AppX package manager built into Windows 10, but most people wouldn't know how to do that. There's no option on the apps management panel to uninstall it.
I don't know if it's still the case with Windows 11, but I would assume it's still possible.
I removed Edge and IE on my work computer and the only time I had trouble was when I tried to open the built-in manual in some non-Microsoft software and it failed.
I think it used some embedded browser component that Edge or IE provides