Prevent users from exporting Saved Passwords in Microsoft Edge

This tutorial will show you how to prevent users from exporting Saved Passwords in Microsoft Edge on a Windows 11/10 PC. Like all other modern browsers, Microsoft Edge provides the feature to import or export saved passwords. You can download a CSV file containing all your login credentials (site name, URL, username, password, etc.). However, if you share your PC with others, anyone can download that file and have access to all those saved credentials. But there are a couple of options using which you can disable the Export passwords feature in the Edge browser. This post includes those options with step-by-step instructions.

You will be able to import passwords to your Edge browser, but the option to export passwords will be greyed out or disabled, as visible in the image above.

Prevent users from exporting Saved Passwords in Microsoft Edge

You can prevent users from exporting saved passwords in Microsoft Edge using two native options of Windows 11/10. These are:

Using Local Group Policy Editor
Using the Registry Editor.

Let’s check both options.

1] Using Local Group Policy Editor

Before you can use this option, you first need to download and install the Group Policy templates for the Microsoft Edge browser. Also, Local Group Policy Editor works on Pro and Enterprise editions of Windows 11/10. If you are using the Home edition of Windows 11/10, you need to add the Group Policy Editor to Windows 11 Home Edition manually. Once you’ve done it, follow these steps to prevent users from exporting saved passwords in Microsoft Edge using the Local Group Policy Editor:

Type gpedit.msc in the Search box of Windows 11/10
Press the Enter key to open the Local Group Policy Editor window
Access the Password manager and protection folder. The path is:

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Classic Administrative Templates (ADM) > Microsoft Edge > Password manager and protection

Double-click on the Enable exporting saved passwords from Password Manager setting. This will open a separate window
Select the Disabled option in that window
Press Apply and OK
Restart Microsoft Edge if it is already.

Now, when you access the Passwords section in the Wallet page (edge://wallet/passwords), you will find that the Export passwords option is greyed out. Hovering the mouse cursor on that option will display a message saying This function is disabled by your organization.

The main Settings page of the Edge browser will also display a Your browser is managed by your organization message.

Later, when you want to enable the Export passwords feature in Microsoft Edge, you can follow the steps mentioned above, and select the Not Configured option for Enable exporting saved passwords from Password Manager setting. Press the OK button to save the changes.

2] Using the Registry Editor

This method is a bit easier to use and can be used in all editions of Windows 11/10. However, you should take a backup of the Windows Registry before making any changes to it. The steps to disable the export passwords option in Microsoft Edge using Registry Editor are as follows:

Open the Run Command box (Win+R)
Type regedit in the text field
Press the Enter key, and the Registry Editor window will open
Access the Edge name Registry key. Here is the path to that key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge

If you don’t see an Edge key there, create it manually. Right-click on the Microsoft key > New > Key. Rename the new key to Edge
On the right section of the Edge Registry key, create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value, and rename it to PasswordExportEnabled
The Value data of PasswordExportEnabled is set to 0 already, so you don’t have to do anything
Close the Registry Editor window.

When you access the Passwords section in the Wallet page of Microsoft Edge settings, the Export passwords option will be disabled.

To enable the Export passwords option in Microsoft Edge again, follow the steps covered above and delete the PasswordExportEnabled DWORD (32-bit) value.

Read: Where does Edge store Password, Cache, History, Extensions, Profiles, and Autofill data?

How do I stop users from saving passwords in Edge?

Open the Microsoft Edge browser and then access the edge://wallet page in Settings. On the Microsoft Wallet page, select Settings from the left sidebar. Under the Passwords section, turn off Offer to save passwords option. Alternatively, you can completely disable the Offer to save passwords option using the Windows Registry. You need to create a PasswordManagerEnabled DWORD (32-bit) Value under the Edge Registry key, and this will disable the Save Password option in Microsoft Edge.

How do I turn off the Password Generator in Edge?

By default, whenever we access a signup page or a change password field, the Edge browser automatically activates its Password Generator to suggest strong passwords. If you don’t like this default behavior, then open the Microsoft Wallet page in Microsoft Edge settings. There, click on the Settings category from the left section. Now, in the Passwords section, turn off the Suggest strong passwords option. This will successfully disable suggested passwords in Microsoft Edge.