How to Enable or Disable Enhance Images in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge image enhancement background

This article explains enabling or disabling image enhancement with the Microsoft Edge browser.

The Microsoft Edge browser is the default browser in Windows 11. However, users can switch to their preferred or favorite browser anytime. Edge is based on Chromium, similar to Google Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers today.

Microsoft Edge browser has a feature that allows users to turn on or off image enhancement. The Microsoft Edge browser will improve images, including color, lighting, contrast, and sharpness, when enabled.

Microsoft servers do the image enhancement. No user identifiers are included in the requests to the servers. The images are cached for 30 days to improve performance.

Below is how to turn on or off image enhancement in the Microsoft Edge browser.

Turn on or off image enhancement with Microsoft Edge

As described above, users can enable or disable a feature in the Microsoft Edge browser to use Microsoft’s server to perform image enhancement. When enabled, this feature will improve images, including color, lighting, contrast, and sharpness.

Here’s how to turn it on or off.

First, open the Microsoft Edge browser.

Then click on Setting and more (Alt+F) 3 horizontal dots button on the top right corner and select Settings.

micrsoft edge browser more option and settings
Microsoft Edge browser has more options and settings

Next, click on Privacy, search and services on the left panel.

microsoft edge browser privacy search and services page
microsoft edge browser privacy search and services page

On the Privacy, search and services settings page, under Services, select the “Enhance images in Microsoft Edge” tile, then toggle the switch to the On (default) position to enable.

To disable it, toggle the button back to the Off switch.

Microsoft Edge turn on or off enhance images
Microsoft Edge visual search hover button

Your changes should apply immediately. Exit and restart the Microsoft Edge browser.

Turn on or off image enhancement in Edge via the Windows Registry Editor

Alternatively, users can use the Windows registry editor to turn image enhancement in Edge on or off.

To do that, open the Windows Registry, and navigate to the folder key below.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge

If you don’t see the Edge folder key, right-click on the Microsoft parent key, then create the subkey (Edge) folder.

microsoft edge show or hide sidebar via registry
Microsoft Edge show or hide the sidebar via the registry

Right-click on the Edge folder key’s right pane and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value. Type a new item named EdgeEnhanceImagesEnabled.

Double-click the new item you created (EdgeEnhanceImagesEnabled) and make sure the Base option is Decimal, and then update the Value data:

  • To turn this feature on. Type 1.
  • To turn this feature off. Type 0.
Microsoft edge image enhancement registry settings
Windows virtual Search enable or disable the registry

That should do it. Restart your computer for the changes to apply.

That should do it!

Reference:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/privacy-whitepaper/#image-enhancement

Conclusion:

This post showed you how to turn the Microsoft Edge image enhancement feature on or off. If you find any errors above or have something to add, please use the comments form below.

Posted by
Richard

I love computers; maybe way too much. What I learned I try to share at geekrewind.com.

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