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Browsing the internet using Microsoft Edge, or any other web browser, can sometimes feel like walking through a bustling marketplace where your every move is observed. Advertisers and various entities often try to track your online activities to gather information about your interests and habits. This data is then used to serve you targeted advertisements and build profiles about you.
While Microsoft Edge is built on the same core technology as Google Chrome, it offers its own set of privacy features. However, some of the most effective settings for protecting your privacy are not always immediately obvious.
This article will guide you through simple, actionable steps to adjust these settings, empowering you to limit tracking and significantly enhance your online privacy. You do not need any advanced technical expertise; all that is required is a desire to keep your online activity as private as possible.
Consider Microsoft Edge as your digital residence. Every website you visit is akin to an unknown guest entering your home. Just as a guest might leave behind items, websites often leave small files or scripts, known as trackers, to monitor your habits and activities.
The settings within Edge are comparable to the locks on your doors, the curtains on your windows, and the security systems that protect your physical home. By adjusting these options, you can effectively block these digital "trackers", limit the number of unsolicited advertisements you encounter, and reduce the amount of data that is shared about you.
These privacy-enhancing settings are often not prominently displayed because many technology companies, including those involved in the advertising ecosystem, benefit significantly from the data they collect from you. Our mission is to unveil these crucial settings, allowing you to strengthen your digital defenses and boost your privacy.
Microsoft Edge provides powerful tools to bolster your privacy, and activating them is a straightforward process. These foundational settings will serve as the initial layer of your digital shield.
Imagine putting a "No Solicitors" sign on your front door. Edge's "Do Not Track" option functions similarly, sending a request to websites you visit asking them not to track your browsing activity. While not all websites are legally obligated to honor this request, many reputable sites do, making this a quick and effective step towards better privacy.
How to activate this:
Open Microsoft Edge.
Click on the three-dot menu icon, usually located in the upper-right corner of the browser window.
Select Settings from the dropdown menu.
In the left-hand sidebar, click on Privacy, search, and services.
Open the Privacy section.
Locate the option Send 'Do Not Track' requests and toggle the switch to the "On" position.
Cookies are small text files that websites store on your device to remember information about you, such as your login details or preferences. However, third-party cookies are distinct; they are placed by domains other than the one you are directly visiting.
Think of them as digital spies that follow you across different websites, allowing advertisers to build a comprehensive profile of your online habits. Blocking these cookies is a crucial step in preventing such pervasive tracking.
How to block this:
Open Microsoft Edge.
Navigate to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
Under the Privacy section, find Cookies.
Toggle on the option Block third-party cookies.
Occasionally, blocking all third-party cookies might cause some websites to not function as expected. If you encounter such an issue, you can consider allowing all cookies for specific sites that you trust and frequently use.
How to do this:
Under the Privacy > Cookies section look for the Customized cookies behavior section.
Click the Add site button against Allowed to save cookies. In the form that pops up, enter the website url and also check the option Include third party cookies on this site and click "Add" to save.
Every time you visit a website, Microsoft Edge stores certain data in its cache to make future visits faster. This cached data includes images, files, and even cookies. While this speeds up browsing, it also accumulates information that could potentially be used to track your activity.
Regularly clearing your browser's cache and cookies is like sweeping away your digital footprints, ensuring that less information about your past browsing sessions remain on your device.
How to implement this:
Open Microsoft Edge.
Navigate to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
Click on Clear browsing data.
Against the Clear browsing data now, click on Choose what to clear.
In the new window, ensure that "Cookies and other site data" and "Cached images and files" are checked. You can also select other items you wish to clear.
From the "Time range" dropdown menu, select "All time" for a thorough clean, or a shorter period if you prefer.
Click on the Clear now button.
Microsoft Edge features a built-in tracking prevention mechanism designed to block a wide range of harmful trackers and advertisements. This feature offers different levels of protection: Basic, Balanced, and Strict. Selecting the "Strict" mode provides the highest level of protection, akin to placing your valuable data within a high-security vault. This mode actively blocks the majority of known trackers and can significantly reduce the number of targeted ads you encounter.
How to implement this:
Open Microsoft Edge.
Navigate to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
Under the Tracking prevention section, select "Strict".
Similar to blocking third-party cookies, the "Strict" tracking prevention mode might occasionally cause certain websites to not load correctly or to behave unexpectedly. If you experience such issues with a site you trust, you can add the problematic website to your Exceptions list.
Microsoft, like many other large technology companies, may use your browser's history and other data to display advertisements that are tailored to your interests. While this might seem convenient to some, it inherently relies on collecting and analyzing your personal data.
Disabling personalized advertisements prevents Microsoft from using your browsing activity to customize the ads you see.
How to implement this:
Open Microsoft Edge.
Navigate to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
Scroll down to the Allow Microsoft to save your browsing activity... section.
Toggle off this option.
For those who are ready to take their online privacy to an even higher level, these advanced settings and strategies offer additional layers of protection with minimal additional effort.
Imagine using a public computer that completely erases all your activity and data as soon as you log off. Microsoft Edge's "InPrivate" browsing mode functions similarly.
When you open an InPrivate window, your browsing history, cookies, site data, and information entered in forms are not saved after you close the window. This makes it an ideal choice for sensitive tasks such as online banking, accessing private documents, or searching for information you do not wish to be linked to your regular browsing history.
How to launch an InPrivate window:
Keyboard Shortcut: Press Ctrl + Shift + N (on Windows) or Command + Shift + N (on macOS).
Menu Option: Click on the three-dot menu icon in the upper-right corner of Edge, and then select New InPrivate window.
A new browser tab will open in dark mode. Browse websites from this window with complete privacy.
WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is a technology that enables real-time communication capabilities directly within your browser, such as video calls, audio chats, screen sharing, and peer-to-peer file sharing. While incredibly useful, WebRTC can, under certain circumstances, reveal your true IP address even if you are using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to mask your location. This is known as a WebRTC leak. Unfortunately, Microsoft Edge does not offer a built-in toggle to disable WebRTC directly. However, you can mitigate this risk by using a browser extension.
How to address WebRTC leaks:
Install a reputable privacy extension that offers protection from IP Leak when using WebRTC. A recommended extension for this is WebRTC Protect which can be installed from from the Microsoft Edge Add-ons store.
Navigate to the Extensions section, by clicking at the Extensions item in the Edge's main menu.
In the popup window, click at Get extensions for Microsoft Edge to jump to the Microsoft Edge Add-ons store.
Search for WebRTC Leak Prevent or WebRTC Protect. Click on the listed extension.
Install the extension by clicking at the Add extension button.
You are all set now and by default WebRTC Protect will protect your IP from leaking by forcing to use a proxy for WebRTC access. And when a proxy is not available it will not allow the communication. However, should you still need to use WebRTC for a specific trusted site, you can temporarily disable WebRTC Protect by opening it's configuration window from the Extensions menu, as shown below:
Over and above Edge's built-in privacy controls, certain extensions can act as powerful digital bodyguards, working silently in the background to enhance your privacy further and block unwanted elements.
A highly recommended extension for combating online tracking is Privacy Badger, developed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF). Privacy Badger is unique because it learns to identify and block sneaky, invisible trackers that try to follow you across different websites, without needing to maintain a list of known trackers.
How to Install Privacy Badger:
Go to the Microsoft Edge Add-ons store (as described in the WebRTC section above).
In the search bar of the Add-ons store, type the name of the extension you wish to install, viz. Privacy Badger.
Get and install the extension.
Once installed, the extension typically starts working immediately with its default settings, providing an extra layer of protection.
As you browse, Privacy Badger learns which domains are tracking you without your permission. When it detects a tracker that appears on multiple websites, it automatically blocks that tracker. Just set-it-and-forget-it. You generally don't need to configure anything. Its learning algorithm takes care of the blocking. However, if a website seems to be broken due to Privacy Badger (which is rare), you can use its Extension options interface to temporarily allow that specific site. It provides a multitude of customization options for the more inclined techys.
By employing Privacy Badger, you equip your Edge browser with an intelligent defense mechanism that adapts to new tracking techniques, ensuring a more private Browsing experience without constant manual intervention.
It is a valid question to ask why these crucial privacy settings are not more prominent or enabled by default.
The primary reason lies in the business models of many large technology companies, including Microsoft. A significant portion of their revenue is generated through advertising, and effective advertising often relies on collecting and analyzing user data to deliver highly targeted ads.
By making privacy settings less accessible or by having data collection enabled by default, these companies make it more challenging for users to opt out. Adjusting these settings is akin to putting a lock on your personal diary; it limits what information companies can gather about you, thereby reducing the intensity of targeted advertisements you experience.
It is important to understand that highly strict privacy settings, such as opting for "Strict" tracking prevention or blocking all cookies, can occasionally lead to some websites not functioning as intended. For example, a website might require certain cookies to remember your login information or to display content correctly.
What to do if a website breaks:
Temporarily adjust tracking prevention: If a site is not loading, try switching your "Tracking prevention" setting from "Strict" to "Balanced" temporarily.
Allow cookies for specific sites: If a website genuinely requires cookies to function, you can often add that specific site to an "allow list" for cookies within your Edge settings. This allows you to maintain strict settings for most of the internet while making exceptions for sites you trust and need to use regularly.
Taking a few minutes to adjust these Microsoft Edge settings is a simple yet profoundly impactful way to secure your digital presence. It is like fortifying your digital house, significantly reducing the amount of data you inadvertently share online.
You do not need to implement all of these changes at once. You can begin with the fundamental steps, such as enabling "Do Not Track" requests or blocking third-party cookies, and then gradually explore the more advanced options as you become more comfortable and confident.
Your online privacy is an invaluable asset, and Microsoft Edge provides you with the essential tools to browse the internet on your own terms, with greater control and peace of mind.
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Rajeev Kumar is the primary author of How2Lab. He is a B.Tech. from IIT Kanpur with several years of experience in IT education and Software development. He has taught a wide spectrum of people including fresh young talents, students of premier engineering colleges & management institutes, and IT professionals.
Rajeev has founded Computer Solutions & Web Services Worldwide. He has hands-on experience of building variety of websites and business applications, that include - SaaS based erp & e-commerce systems, and cloud deployed operations management software for health-care, manufacturing and other industries.