10 Microsoft Edge Settings You Need to Change to Improve Your Browsing Experience

 Here are the settings I needed to change to enhance my browsing experience with Edge.

1. Turn off News Feed

Microsoft Edge's News Feed is annoying and often distracting. Luckily, you can easily turn it off from Page settings . To turn off Edge's News Feed, click the gear icon (Page settings) in the upper-right corner. Then, scroll down and turn off the Show feed toggle to turn off the content.

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If you don't want to turn off the feed completely, select the Headings option , which will minimize the content to reduce distraction.

2. Hide the favorites bar

The favorites bar takes away from the minimalist experience that many people enjoy with Edge. It also appears in all screenshots, so many people want to hide it on new and active tabs. To disable the favorites bar, follow these steps:

a. Click the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner and select Favorites . Or, press Ctrl + Shift + O to open this item.

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b. In the Favorites menu , click the three-dot menu, go to Show Favorites Bar and select Never . You can also set it to only show on new tabs if you want.

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c. For quicker access to your favorites, you can add a favorites button to your toolbar. To do this, open the Favorites menu , click the three-dot menu, and then click Show Favorites button in the toolbar .

3. Use vertical tabs

One of my favorite features of Edge is vertical tabs. This feature gives you more horizontal screen space. Another advantage is that it reduces tab clutter by allowing you to view and open them without having to scroll through a sea of ​​open tabs. See: How to use vertical tabs in Microsoft Edge for more details.

4. Block media autoplay

Some websites autoplay videos without user consent, leading to unwanted data usage and a frustrating browsing experience. On Edge, you can change your media autoplay settings to block autoplay videos on all websites. See: How to Disable Video Autoplay on Microsoft Edge for more details!

Keep in mind that blocking media autoplay can also block media content on sites you might use, like video previews on YouTube. If that's a concern, set Media autoplay to Limit and let Edge decide whether to allow or block autoplay based on your past interactions with the site.

5. Change default search engine

Bing is the default search engine in Edge. If you prefer an alternative search engine like Google or the privacy-focused DuckDuckGo, you can set them as the default for Edge on your computer. Check out How to change your search engine in Microsoft Edge Chromium for more details!

6. Block website notifications

Almost every website you visit asks for permission to show notifications. While you can click Block to stop these notifications on a website, having to do it for each site is a hassle.

If you find pop-ups asking for notification permissions annoying, you can block them completely by configuring your website permission settings in Edge. See: How to block annoying website notifications in Microsoft Edge for more details.

7. Automatically open favorite tabs on startup

Many people's daily work routines start with opening the same set of websites. Instead of manually opening each website, you can configure Edge to automatically open these websites when you launch the browser. To add startup pages in Edge:

a. Click the three-dot menu in the upper right corner and select Settings .

b. Next, open the Start, home, and new tab in the left pane. Under When Edge starts , select Open these pages . Then, click Add a new page , enter the website URL, and click Add .

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c. Alternatively, you can set all your currently open tabs as startup pages by clicking Use all open tabs . To remove a URL, simply click the three-dot menu next to the URL and select Delete .

8. Enable and configure mouse gestures

Microsoft Edge offers built-in mouse gestures that let you quickly open or close tabs, scroll to the top or bottom, enable full-screen mode, or open an incognito tab. This feature is handy for people who use their laptop's trackpad as their primary input device. To enable mouse gestures in Edge, here's what you need to do:

a. Go to Settings > Appearance .

b. Scroll down to select Customize browser , then turn on the Enable Mouse Gesture switch .

c. Now, click to expand Configure Mouse Gestures to explore all the mouse gestures available on Edge.

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9. Turn on Microsoft Autofill to fill out forms faster

Autofill in Edge can help you fill out forms faster with names, contacts, addresses, and other information saved in the browser. Autofill is part of Microsoft Wallet, which is also where the browser stores your passwords, payment information, and more. To turn on autofill in Edge, follow these instructions:

a. Go to Settings > Profiles , then click Open Wallet next to Microsoft Wallet .

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b. Now, click on the Settings tab in the left pane and scroll down to Personal info . Enable both the options below.

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c. In the left pane, open the Personal Info tab . Then, click Add address , add all your personal information, and click Save .

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d. You can also add multiple addresses to the list and choose from them when filling out the form.

10. Enable dark mode in Edge

People love dark mode for its aesthetics, but it also helps reduce eye strain in dark environments and reduces power consumption to extend the battery life of your laptop if it has an OLED display.

By default, Edge will adapt to the system default theme. However, if you prefer a browser-only dark theme, you can manually enable it in Settings. See: How to enable Dark Mode for Edge browser for more details.

These are all the small changes you should make after switching from Chrome to Edge to improve your browsing experience. Of course, there are many other settings you can adjust to further fine-tune the browser to suit your needs. But with these tweaks, you won't have to worry about a third-party browser anymore.

Samuel Daniel

Update 09 September 2024