How to prevent Microsoft Edge from automatically opening links in new tabs

If you regularly use Bing Search on Microsoft Edge (chromium), you will find this browser has a rather strange default feature. That is, when you click on any link in the search results, that link will automatically be opened in a new tab, and the search results page will remain open in another tab. This can sometimes be frustrating, making it unclear to users whether Bing or Edge is getting an error.

To be more specific about what we're talking about: You execute a search query, click a link from the results page, and you're taken to a new tab. You click the back button to go back to the results page but you can't. Now you click on another result and are taken to a new tab again. In a nutshell, every time you click on a link, you will be redirected to a new tab and the results will remain open in the original tab. This 'feature' makes many people find it annoying.

If you feel the same way, you can refer to the following fix. The real solution lies in the Bing Safe Search settings. This feature only seems to be enabled by default if you use Edge.

First, open Microsoft Edge on your Windows, Mac, or Linux PC and go to Bing.com. Next, click on the three dashed menu icon in the top right corner of the screen.

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In the menu that appears, click on ' Safe Search '.

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Scroll down to ' Results ' and uncheck both ' Open links from search results in a new tab or window ' and ' Open links from news results in a new tab or window ' (Opens a link from news results in a new tab or window ).

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That's all you need to do. This is a very weird and annoying 'feature', apparently designed to keep Bing open as much as possible. Some users say the feature resets frequently, so you may have to disable it again in the future.

Jessica Tanner

Update 29 June 2021