Starting in Microsoft Edge 92, the browser will open websites via HTTPS when no protocol specified by the user, i.e. in case when the URL is entered partially. For example, if you type winaero.com into the address bar, it will first load https://winaero.com and not http://winaero.com, as it works in the actual stable Edge version.
This change was first introduced in Chrome 90. Since both browsers share the underlying Chromium engine, it is not surprising to see the same behavior in Edge. Microsoft Edge will prioritize HTTPS requests, assuming that most sites these days are available via the secure and encrypted connection.
You may be curious what will happen if a website doesn't support HTTPS yet. In that case, Edge will switch to HTTPS automatically. It will also do that if a website has a certificate error.
Unlike Google, which forced the new behavior for all users on all supported platforms in Chrome 90, Microsoft made this feature optional. Users will have the option to switch the browsing navigations from HTTP to HTTPS and vice versa on domains that support this more secure protocol.
The change is generally positive. These days most websites already use HTTPS by default or have an HTTPS version. By assuming HTTPS as the default option, Edge will open sites faster, as it won't need to perform a redirect from HTTP to HTTPS any longer. Also, handling connections over HTTPS will secure Edge's users against man-in-the-middle attack and prevent data leaks from encrypted traffic transfers.
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