How to enable/disable Enhance Images in Microsoft Edge

This guide will show you how to enable or disable automatic image enhancement in Microsoft Edge for your account or all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

The Microsoft Edge web browser is based on Chrome and was released on January 15, 2020. It is compatible with all supported versions of Windows and macOS. With best-in-class speed, performance, compatibility for websites and extensions, and built-in security and privacy features.

To provide a better web browsing experience, Microsoft Edge provides Image Enhancement feature by improving the color, lighting, contrast and sharpness of images.

When the Image Enhancement feature is enabled, Microsoft Edge will encode and transmit images to Microsoft servers to perform image quality enhancement. No user identifiers are included in requests to the server. Images are cached for 30 days to improve performance.

How to enable/disable Enhance Images in Microsoft Edge for current users from Settings

1. Open Microsoft Edge.

2. Click the 3-dot Settings and more (Alt + F) button and click Settings.

3. Click Privacy, search, and services on the left.

Note: If you don't see the left panel, tap the 3-bar menu button in the upper left OR expand the horizontal border of the Microsoft Edge window until you see it.

4. Perform the steps available below:

1. (OLD) In ​​Services on the right, enable (default) or disable Enhance images in Microsoft Edge as you wish.

1. (NEW) In Services on the right, click Enhance images in Microsoft Edge and enable (default) or disable Enhance images for all sites as you wish.

5. Now, you can close Settings if you want.

How to enable/disable Enhance Images in Microsoft Edge for all users using REG file

Note:

1. You must be logged in as admin to use this option.
2. This option uses the EdgeEnhanceImagesEnabled policy for Microsoft Edge.

1. Perform step 2 (always on), step 3 (off) or step 4 (default) below depending on your preference.

2. To always enable Enhance Images in Microsoft Edge for all users, download the REG file below and go to step 5.​

Always_Enable_enhance_images_in_Microsoft_Edge_for_all_users.reg

REG file content is for reference only:

Code: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftEdge] "EdgeEnhanceImagesEnabled"=dword:00000001

3. To turn off the Enhance Images feature in Microsoft Edge for all users, download the REG file below and go to step 5.​

Disable_enhance_images_in_Microsoft_Edge_for_all_users.reg

REG file content is for reference only:

Code: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftEdge] "EdgeEnhanceImagesEnabled"=dword:00000000

4. To set the default user-selectable Enhance Images feature in Microsoft Edge, download the REG file below and go to step 5.​

Default_user-choice_enhance_images_in_Microsoft_Edge.reg​

REG file content is for reference only:

Code: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftEdge] "EdgeEnhanceImagesEnabled"=-

5. Save the .reg file to the desktop.

6. Double click the downloaded .reg file to merge it.

7. When prompted, click Run > Yes (UAC) > Yes > OK to approve the merge.

8. If Microsoft Edge is currently open, close and reopen Microsoft Edge to apply the changes.

9. Now, you can delete the downloaded .reg file if you want.

Marvin Fry

Update 02 January 2024