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, Copilot AI features, shopping price comparison tools, Microsoft Rewards tracking, and various web service features that send browsing data to Microsoft.
In May 2026 Microsoft retired the separate, opt-in “Copilot Mode” and moved its features into the standard browser. That means abilities that used to require switching modes, such as Copilot reasoning across your open tabs and drawing on your browsing history, are now part of regular Edge. The controls for them are gathered on a single Copilot and AI settings page.
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 AI
These are under Settings → Copilot and AI unless noted. Exact wording has shifted between Edge versions, so look for the closest match if a label differs slightly.
Copilot and AI → Show Copilot button in toolbar → Off
Copilot connects to Microsoft's AI service and can access page content when you open it. Hiding the button prevents accidental activation. It does not remove Copilot, which can still be opened from the menu if you need it.
Copilot and AI → Allow Copilot to read context clues on the web → Off
Microsoft says this setting covers the current web page, its title, your open tabs, and your browser history, and Copilot uses them by default. Turning it off means Copilot will not draw on your browsing to answer questions unless you explicitly share a page in a given conversation.
Copilot and AI → Copilot new tab page → Off
Replaces the standard new tab page with one built around a Copilot chat box. Turning it off returns the regular new tab page, so typing into a new tab does not start a Copilot conversation.
Copilot and AI → the setting that lets Copilot take actions on your behalf → Off
Edge can let Copilot carry out tasks on websites for you, such as filling in forms. Unless you use this, turning it off keeps Copilot to answering questions rather than acting in your browser.
Copilot and AI → Browse with Copilot → Enable Browse with Copilot → Off
Browse with Copilot is the newer home for the agent-style browsing features that came from Copilot Mode. It has its own section within the Copilot and AI settings; switching it off there turns those features off.
Sidebar → Always show sidebar → Off
The sidebar hosts various Microsoft services and tools that may send page data to Microsoft. Hiding it reduces passive connections to these services.
Copilot memory and training
These live in Copilot’s own settings (open Copilot, then your profile or the settings menu), and they apply to your Microsoft account across Copilot apps, not only Edge.
Copilot settings → Memory → Personalization and memory → Off
Controls whether Copilot remembers details from past conversations and uses them to personalize future responses. You can also ask Copilot what it remembers about you, or delete all memory, without deleting your conversation history.
Copilot 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 settings → Privacy → Training on conversation activity and Training on voice conversations → Off
These are two separate switches: one for typed conversations and one for voice conversations. Turning both off excludes your future Copilot conversations from being used to train Microsoft's AI models. Microsoft notes that opting out does not stop conversations being used for general product improvement, safety, or compliance. Conversation history is kept for 18 months unless you delete it, which you can 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 other features in Windows. 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 context clues means Copilot cannot answer questions about your open tabs or past browsing without you pasting or sharing the content yourself.
- Turning off Browse with Copilot and Copilot actions means doing multi-step web tasks yourself.
- 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 or voice 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 comparing open tabs, keeping the Copilot button and context clues on is practical. If you rely on Copilot remembering context across sessions, leave Personalization and memory on.
- If you use Browse with Copilot to handle routine web tasks, leave it on, but review what it does before letting it submit forms or purchases.
- 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.