Microsoft Edge
What the default settings do
Edge is built on Chromium and ships with a range of Microsoft services integrated by default. These include Bing suggestions in the address bar, a Copilot AI sidebar, shopping price comparison tools, Microsoft Rewards tracking, and various web service features that send browsing data to Microsoft.
The default tracking prevention level is set to Balanced, which blocks trackers from sites you have not visited. Several optional diagnostic data and personalization features are enabled out of the box.
A reasonable privacy baseline
These settings are found in Settings from the Edge menu (three dots → Settings), organized across several sections.
Privacy, search, and services
Tracking prevention → Strict
Edge offers Basic, Balanced, and Strict tracking prevention. Balanced blocks known trackers from sites you have not visited. Strict blocks the majority of trackers across all sites and may cause some site functionality to break.
Send "Do Not Track" requests → On
Not all websites honor this signal, but it communicates your preference.
Optional diagnostic data → Off
Controls whether Edge sends data about websites you visit, crash reports, and feature usage to Microsoft. Required diagnostic data (basic functionality information) is still sent separately.
Personalize your web experience → Off
When enabled, Microsoft uses your browsing history to personalize advertising, news, and other experiences across Microsoft services. Turning this off stops browsing data from feeding into that profile.
Web service features → Address bar and search → Search and site suggestions using my typed characters → Off
Sends keystrokes from the address bar to Bing as you type. Turning this off keeps typed characters local until you press Enter.
Copilot and sidebar
Copilot → Show Copilot button in toolbar → Off
The Copilot sidebar connects to Microsoft's AI service and can access page content when activated. Hiding the button prevents accidental activation. Copilot can still be accessed through the menu if needed.
Sidebar → Always show sidebar → Off
The sidebar hosts various Microsoft services including Copilot, Shopping, and other tools that may send page data to Microsoft. Disabling it reduces passive connections to these services.
Copilot and sidebar → Copilot → Allow Copilot to read context clues on the web → Off
Controls whether Copilot can read the content of the page you are viewing when you interact with it. Turning this off means Copilot will not use page content to answer questions unless you explicitly share it in a given conversation.
Copilot sidebar → Settings → Memory → Personalization and memory → Off
Controls whether Copilot remembers past conversations and uses them to personalize future responses.
Copilot sidebar → Settings → Memory → Microsoft usage data → Off
Controls whether Copilot can draw on your activity from Bing, MSN, Edge, and other Microsoft products to personalize responses.
Copilot sidebar → Settings → Privacy → Training on conversation activity → Off
Excludes your future Copilot conversations from being used to train Microsoft's AI models. This is separate from deleting your conversation history, which you can also do at any time from the same settings area.
Shopping in Edge
Shopping → Save time and money with Shopping in Microsoft Edge → Off
When enabled, Edge monitors product pages to offer coupons, price comparisons, and price history. This sends data about the shopping sites you visit to Microsoft. Turning it off stops this monitoring.
Microsoft Rewards
Microsoft Rewards → Earn Microsoft Rewards in Microsoft Edge → Off
Rewards tracks your searches and browsing in Edge to grant points redeemable for gift cards and other items. Disabling this stops the activity tracking associated with the rewards program.
New tab page
New tab page → Content → Show feed → Off
The new tab page shows a personalized news feed powered by Microsoft Start. Turning off the feed removes it along with its associated data collection and sponsored content.
New tab page → Sponsored content → Off
If you keep the feed on, disabling sponsored content removes paid placements from the new tab page.
Privacy settings specific to Edge features
Share browsing data with other Windows features → Off
Controls whether Edge shares browsing data with Windows features like Timeline and activity history. Turning this off keeps Edge browsing data within the browser.
Allow sites to check if you have payment methods saved → Off
Websites can query whether you have saved payment methods in Edge. Turning this off prevents sites from detecting this information.
Trade-offs
- Strict tracking prevention may break some websites, particularly those that use cross-site resources for login, embedded media, or checkout flows. You can add per-site exceptions when needed.
- Turning off search suggestions means the address bar will not show real-time results as you type. You will need to submit your query to see results.
- Disabling Shopping means you will not receive automatic coupon or price comparison alerts. If you want deal-finding features, you would need to use a separate extension or service.
- Turning off Microsoft Rewards means forgoing points that can be redeemed for small rewards. The program ties browsing activity to your Microsoft account.
- Disabling the Copilot button does not uninstall Copilot. It remains accessible through the menu. If you use Copilot regularly, keeping the button visible is more convenient.
- Turning off Copilot’s memory and personalization means it will not recall earlier conversations, so you may need to repeat context in each new session. Opting out of training on conversation activity does not delete conversations already used for training before you changed the setting.
- Removing the new tab feed means a simpler but less informational start page. If you use the feed as a news source, you will need an alternative.
- Disabling optional diagnostics means Microsoft receives less information to identify and fix Edge-specific issues.
Who should not change these settings
- If you actively use Microsoft Rewards and consider the points valuable relative to the data collected, keeping it enabled is a deliberate choice.
- If you find Edge’s shopping features useful for finding coupons and tracking prices, the convenience may outweigh the data shared with Microsoft for your use case.
- If you use Copilot frequently for summarizing pages or answering questions, keeping the sidebar and Copilot button visible is practical. If you rely on Copilot remembering context across sessions, leave Personalization and memory on.
- If you are in a managed enterprise environment, some of these settings may be controlled by your organization and cannot be changed.
- If the Balanced tracking prevention level works well for you and Strict causes too many site issues, Balanced already provides meaningful tracker blocking.
- If you prefer a rich new tab page with news content, keeping the feed on while disabling sponsored content is a middle-ground option.