The privacy page: four switches that matter most
Everything starts at edge://settings/privacy — a page most people have never opened. Diagnostic data is Edge's own telemetry, separate from the Windows setting, and it ships crash and usage data even when Windows is set to required-only. "Personalize your web experience" links your browsing to your Microsoft account for personalized ads, suggestions and the shopping nags, and it hides a second advertising-ID toggle inside. "Show me search and site suggestions using my typed characters" sends address-bar keystrokes to your search engine as you type — that's how autocomplete feels instant. "Preload pages" fetches links it thinks you'll click, which leaks the next URL before you've decided to click it.
The background talkers: five more places data leaves from
The quieter half of the list doesn't live on the privacy page. Startup boost and "continue running background extensions and apps when Microsoft Edge is closed" — both at edge://settings/system — keep Edge processes alive after you close the window, syncing and phoning home while you think it's off. The Shopping assistant sends page URLs to check for coupons. "Share browsing data with other Windows features" feeds your Edge history into Windows search and system suggestions. The new tab page's personalized feed leans on your history, and sync — under Profiles — carries history, open tabs and more to the cloud unless you trim it. None of these are secrets; they're just spread across four different settings pages.
- edge://settings/privacy: set Diagnostic data to required-only, kill Personalization
- Turn off typed-character search suggestions on the same page
- edge://settings/system: disable Startup boost and background extensions
- Turn off the Shopping assistant under Privacy and services
- Stop sharing browsing data with Windows search features
- In Profiles → Sync, exclude history and open tabs — or switch sync off
What's worth keeping on
Not every data flow is a trade to reject. SmartScreen sends the URLs you visit to a reputation service, but it also blocks real phishing and malware downloads daily — turning it off to save metadata is a bad deal. Password sync, if you use Edge's password manager, is end-to-end encrypted and genuinely convenient; the alternative for most people is worse password hygiene, not better privacy. The honest approach is the one Windows itself never suggests: go through the nine switches once, deliberately, and keep the two or three whose benefit you actually feel. Five minutes on four settings pages buys you a browser that stops narrating your typing to Bing.
Questions and Answers
Does Edge send data to Microsoft if Windows telemetry is off?
Yes. Edge has its own diagnostic data setting at edge://settings/privacy, independent of the Windows one — both need to be set separately.
Why is Edge still running after I close it?
Startup boost and "continue running background extensions" keep processes alive after the window closes; both toggles are at edge://settings/system.
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