The new generation of browsers offers more control over how consumers can configure Privacy Settings. Microsoft has been offering extensive Privacy Settings in its OS, which applies to Microsoft Edge (Chromium). This post will share how you can configure Privacy Settings in Microsoft Edge.
Tracking Protection is a browser feature that limits the effect of services like Google, Facebook, etc., tracking your online activities. If you are profiled, you are almost tracked across services and platforms.
Data Collection in Microsoft Edge
Before discussing how to configure privacy, I wanted to share how data collection works in Microsoft Edge. In short, to what extent can the new browser collect the data? Some of these are important to improve the performance of the product. It helps them to understand how one uses the browser. Here is the list of data that is collected by:
- Crash reports.
- Info about how someone is using the browser and websites they visit.
- Installation, feature usage, performance, and memory usage of Edge.
- Site load time, page URL, page content, and more.
Configure Privacy Settings in Microsoft Edge
Microsft Edge has all its privacy settings available in one place, so you can easily manage them. Open Edge, click on three dots > Settings > Privacy, search, and services. A list of settings is available here. I will break them down so you can understand them.
- Tracking prevention
- Basic, Balanced, and Strict.
- Blocked trackers
- Exceptions
- Always use Strict tracking prevention when browsing InPrivate
- Clear Browsing data, including data for Internet Explorer
- Privacy
- Services
- Others
- Security
- Required and Optional diagnostic data
- Search and service improvement
- Help improve the Microsoft Edge Section
- Personalization & advertising
1] Tracking prevention
When you visit a website, it tags you. These tags are sturdy and can identify that you are the same person. They are used to serve you advertisements or information. Some trackers collect and send your info to sites you haven’t visited. If you like to stay anonymous, you should use a VPN or the Tracking prevention settings. Make sure to toggle it on if it is off and then configure it. Microsoft Edge offers three types of settings up front.
- Basic: Allows almost all trackers.
- Balanced: Blocks trackers from sites you have not visited, less personalized ads.
- Strict: Blocks most trackers, minimal personalization information for content and ads.
The common feature of all these profiles is that they Block all known harmful trackers. The difference is that some websites might not work as expected in strict mode. If you are sure that some trackers should be allowed, then you have two options:
- Blocked trackers: You can choose to remove trackers which you trust or maybe it’s yours
- Exceptions: Allow all the trackers from a site you trust.
Related: What is web tracking? What are Trackers in Browsers?
2] Clear Browsing data, including data for Internet Explorer
The second option is to clear all of your browsing data. Go to Edge Settings > Privacy, search, and services. Here, you should first configure what you plan to delete.
Click on the arrow at the end of the option—Choose what to clear every time you close the browser.
Toggle on against options that include browsing data, download history, cookies, and other site data.
If you click the button that says Choose what to clear, you can individually set what to delete instead of deleting all of them. Once configured, click the Clear Now button to remove those data. If you have turned on Sync on Microsoft Edge, then data from other devices will also be deleted.
3] Privacy (Website Tracking)
While we have already talked about blocking the trackers, the Website tracking section offers a few more settings.
- Send “Do Not Track” requests: Browsers send a formal request on the user’s behalf, but websites can dishonor it.
- Allow sites to check if you have payment info saved: If you are on a payment gateway and do not want websites to check if you have payment data, toggle this off.
Related read: Privacy and Security Settings in Edge browser on Windows 11/10.
4] Services
These are here to improve your browsing experience, and I highly recommend you check each one and change it accordingly. These services never allow extensions to change search engines, new tab pages, or home page settings. Here are some important ones
- Use a web service to help resolve navigation errors. This is useful when you try to connect to public Wi-Fi where a login is required.
- Microsoft Defender SmartScreen: It blocks malicious sites and downloads and PUA.
- Address bar: You can search directly from the address bar when you enable Search and site suggestions.
Related read: Trace offers excellent Tracking protection for Chrome and Firefox.
5] Other Privacy Settings on Microsoft Edge
There are a few more settings on Edge, such as Security, Required and Optional diagnostic data, Search and service improvement, which help improve the Microsoft Edge Section, and Personalization & advertising. While it’s not much, if you care too much about privacy, we suggest checking each and configuring them accordingly.
How to check if the Tracking prevention feature in Edge is working
Open any websites that display advertisements. Please wait for it to load completely. When you finish, click the lock icon next to the website URL. It will reveal settings like certificates, cookies, etc. Along with this, Tracking prevention has a dedicated area where you can view:
- Tracking prevention is turned on for the website
- Number of blocked trackers
- There is a direct link to open the settings to manage all sites.
You would be surprised to know the number of trackers that a website deploys to track any consumer.
Related: How to search any website from the address bar
That concludes our guide to configuring Privacy Settings in Microsoft Edge. To set privacy entirely on Windows 11/10, also review the Windows Privacy settings.
How do I make Microsoft Edge more secure?
Apart from turning on the Enhance your security on the web in the privacy settings, you can also add URLs to the list to ensure it is followed. You can go to Always use enhanced security for these sites, then select Add a site.
How do I manage permissions in Microsoft Edge?
When using Microsoft Edge, click the Lock, Info, or Dangerous icon in the address bar and choose Site permissions. Locate Location and select Ask (default), Allow, or Block.
