Microsoft Edge Privacy Settings Explained: Protecting Your Data

Understanding Online Tracking

Online tracking uses small codes, called trackers or cookies, to follow what you do on the internet. Trackers remember you, like keeping items in your shopping cart, or show you ads based on what you look at.

• To remember you: Like keeping items in your online shopping cart or remembering your login details.
• To show you ads: They track what you look at to show you ads they think you’ll be interested in.
• To analyze website use: Websites use this data to see which pages are popular and how people use their site.

Edge allows you to limit tracking. You can choose how much tracking Edge allows, with three settings available: Basic, Balanced, and Strict. The Strict setting blocks 80% of known trackers.

How to Access Microsoft Edge Privacy Settings

To access Microsoft Edge privacy settings, open the browser and click the three dots in the top-right corner. Then, select ‘Settings’ from the menu. On the left side of the Settings menu, click ‘Privacy, search, and services’ to find all your privacy controls.

1. Open Microsoft Edge on your computer.
2. Click the three dots (Settings and more) in the top-right corner of the browser window.
3. Select Settings from the menu that appears.
4. In ⚙️ the Settings menu, click on Privacy, search, and services on the left side.

This opens the main area where you can manage all your privacy preferences.

Tracking Prevention: Your First Line of Defense

Microsoft Edge’s Tracking prevention is your main tool to block unwanted trackers, offering three levels: Basic, Balanced, and Strict. Basic blocks harmful trackers and those from sites you haven’t visited, while Balanced offers more protection with fewer website disruptions. Strict provides the most protection but might affect how some sites work.

• Basic: This is the least strict level. It blocks trackers that are known to be harmful or that are from websites you haven’t visited. It’s a good starting point if you don’t want to change how websites load or work too much.
• Balanced: This is the default setting for most people. It blocks more trackers than ‘Basic’ but is designed so most websites still work correctly. It blocks trackers from websites you haven’t visited and also blocks some trackers from websites you have visited, depending on what they are tracking. This offers a good balance between protection and website function.
• Strict: This is the most protective setting. It blocks most trackers, even from websites you have visited. While this offers the strongest privacy, it might cause some websites to not work correctly or load properly. You might need to turn off ‘Strict’ for certain sites if they don’t work as expected.

How to Adjust Tracking Prevention:

1. ⚙️ Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
2. Under the Tracking prevention section, click the circle next to the level you prefer (Basic, Balanced, or Strict).

You can adjust Tracking prevention by going to Settings > Privacy, search, and services and clicking the circle next to Basic, Balanced, or Strict. If a website doesn’t work with ‘Strict’ mode, you can easily turn off tracking prevention just for that specific site by clicking the shield icon in the address bar.

Managing Cookies and Site Data

Cookies are small files websites save on your computer to remember details like logins or shopping carts, but cookies can also track you. Microsoft Edge lets you manage cookies, especially ‘third-party cookies.’ Third-party cookies are set by websites other than the one you’re visiting, making cookie management a good step to stop cross-site tracking.

• Block third-party cookies: These are cookies set by websites other than the one you are currently visiting. Blocking them is a good step to prevent tracking across different websites.
• Clear cookies and site data when you close Microsoft Edge: You can set Edge to automatically delete cookies and other site data every time you close the browser. This means you’ll be logged out of most sites when you reopen Edge, but it offers a high level of privacy.

How to Manage Cookies and Site Data:

1. ⚙️ Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
2. Scroll down to the Cookies and site permissions section.
3. Click on Cookies and site data.

Cookies and site data in Edge are managed within the Privacy, search, and services settings. Navigate to Settings > Privacy, search, and services, then click ‘Cookies and site data’ to access these options. You can block cookies from other websites, set Edge to automatically clear cookies when you close the browser, or clear them right away. You can also manage data for individual websites here.

• Turn on Block third-party cookies.
• Turn on Clear cookies and site data when you close Microsoft Edge. You can also click Clear to remove them right away.

You can manage specific websites’ data. In Microsoft Edge’s privacy settings, under “Cookies and site data,” you can select “See all cookies and site data” to view, search, and delete cookies from individual websites. You can also add specific websites to a list to always clear their data or never clear their data.

Search and Address Bar Settings

Your privacy can be affected by what you type in the address bar and how Edge handles search suggestions. Edge sends characters you type to your search provider, like Bing, to offer faster search suggestions, which is controlled through specific settings.

• Send suggestions for search engine: When this is on, Edge sends characters you type in the address bar to your default search engine to get suggestions. You can turn this off if you prefer not to send this information.
• Address bar and search: This section lets you manage how Edge handles search queries and suggestions. You can choose your preferred search engine and control whether Edge sends information about your searches.

How to Adjust Address Bar and Search Settings:

1. ⚙️ Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
2. Scroll down to the Address bar and search section.

To adjust address bar and search settings, go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services and scroll to the ‘Address bar and search’ section. You can choose your default search engine or turn off ‘Show me suggestions and site info from Microsoft Edge’ if you don’t want typed characters sent for suggestions.

• Choose your Search engine used in the address bar from the dropdown menu.
• Turn off Show me suggestions and site info from Microsoft Edge using what I type in the address bar if you don’t want Edge to send typed characters for suggestions.

You can also manage search-related data.

Clearing Your Browsing Data

• Browsing history: A list of websites you’ve visited.
• Cookies and other site data: Information websites store on your device.
• Cached images and files: Copies of website content stored to make pages load faster.
• Download history: A list of files you’ve downloaded.
• Passwords: If you let Edge save your passwords.
• Autofill form data: Information like your name, address, and credit card details.

How to Clear Browsing Data:

1. ⚙️ Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
2. Scroll down to the Clear browsing data section.
3. Click on Choose what to clear.
4. Select a Time range (e.g., Last hour, Last 24 hours, All time).
5. Check the boxes next to the types of data you want to delete.
6. Click Clear now.

To clear your browsing data in Edge, navigate to Settings > Privacy, search, and services and click ‘Choose what to clear.’ Select a time range, check the boxes for the data types you want to delete (like history and cookies), and then click ‘Clear now.’

InPrivate Browsing: For Temporary Privacy

InPrivate browsing in Microsoft Edge provides temporary privacy by not saving your browsing history, cookies, or form data for a browsing session. InPrivate browsing is like starting with a clean slate, but it does not make you anonymous online to your internet provider or the websites you visit.

How to Start an InPrivate Window:

1. Open Microsoft Edge.
2. Click the three dots (Settings and more) in the top-right corner.
3. Select New InPrivate window.

A new window will open with an InPrivate icon (often a blue circle with a mask) in the top-left corner, showing you are in private browsing mode.

Permissions for Websites

Websites can request access to your device’s features like location, camera, or microphone, but you control these permissions in Edge. The ‘Site permissions’ section lets you see and manage exactly what each website is allowed to do, ensuring your control over sensitive features.

• Site permissions: This section lets you manage what websites can do. You can review and change permissions for location, camera, microphone, notifications, and more.

How to Manage Site Permissions:

1. ⚙️ Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
2. Scroll down to the Cookies and site permissions section.
3. Click on Site permissions.

Site permissions in Microsoft Edge allow you to control which websites can access features like your camera or location. To change these permissions, open Edge’s Settings, then select Privacy, search, and services. Scroll down to the ‘Cookies and site permissions’ section and click on ‘Site permissions.’ You can then select a specific permission, such as Camera, to view and manage which sites have access.

Advanced Privacy Controls: Beyond the Basics

Microsoft Edge includes some less obvious settings that can further improve your privacy. These are often missed but can make a difference.

SmartScreen: Protecting You from Threats

Microsoft Defender SmartScreen protects you from dangerous websites and downloads by checking them against a constantly updated list of threats. This security feature sends information about the sites and files you access to Microsoft’s servers.

• Reputation-based protection: This is the main SmartScreen setting. It includes checks for phishing (trying to steal your information), malware (harmful software), unwanted applications, and suspicious websites.

How to Manage SmartScreen:

1. ⚙️ Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
2. Scroll down to the Security section.
3. Under Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, you can turn it on or off.
4. Click on Reputation-based protection for more detailed control over what types of threats are checked.

Personalized Advertising and Data Sending

Microsoft collects data on how you use Edge to improve its products and offers settings to control this, including for personalized advertising. You can choose how much data you send, like optional diagnostic data which includes crash reports and website performance, and manage tailored experiences based on your browsing.

• Optional diagnostic data: This is data about how you use Edge, reports when Edge crashes, and how websites perform. You can choose to send only the essential data or more detailed optional data.
• Tailored experiences: This setting allows Microsoft to use your diagnostic data and browsing history to provide personalized suggestions and ads. Turning this off can limit personalized advertising.

How to Manage Diagnostic Data and Advertising:

1. ⚙️ Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
2. Scroll down to the Optional diagnostic data section. Here you can turn off Send optional diagnostic data about how you use the browser, websites you visit, and crash reports to Microsoft.
3. Further down, under the Privacy section, you will find Tailored experiences. Turn off Allow Microsoft to use your browsing history, in-browser and in-app activity, search history and location data to provide you with personalized ads and recommendations.

Syncing Your Data Across Devices

If you use Microsoft Edge on multiple devices (like a PC and a phone), you can sync your settings, history, passwords, and favorite websites. While this is convenient, it means your data is stored on Microsoft’s servers. You can choose what gets synced.

How to Manage Sync Settings:

1. ⚙️ Go to Settings > Profiles on the left side.
2. Click on Sync.

To manage sync settings in Edge, go to Settings > Profiles on the left. You can turn sync on or off entirely. If sync is on, you can choose exactly what you want to share across your devices, like Favorites, History, or Passwords, by checking or unchecking the relevant items.

Summary

Microsoft Edge offers many tools to control your online privacy, including tracking prevention, cookie management, and site permissions. Regularly clearing browsing data, using InPrivate browsing, and adjusting settings for diagnostic data, advertising, and syncing helps you further customize your privacy experience.