Microsoft’s introduction of Site Suggestions in Edge has been met with mixed feelings, as many users feel it hampers their browsing experience rather than enhancing it. Essentially, this feature fills your startup screen with a selection of web pages from your history, which can feel more disruptive than beneficial. Fortunately, you can easily disable this feature to regain control over your browsing experience.
Understanding Edge Site Suggestions
Commencing with the Canary release of Microsoft Edge, some users experienced an unexpected modification when launching the browser: pages from their browsing history would appear without warning. While Microsoft intended this feature to offer a user-friendly experience by suggesting relevant sites based on past activity, it can feel intrusive, especially for those frequently exploring diverse topics. If you find this feature bothersome, you’re not alone, and you have options to address it.
Impact on Your Privacy
Like many of its products, Microsoft collects user data through Edge to tailor your browsing experience — this includes details from your history, web pages viewed, and general usage for aspects like search and advertising. The specifics of this data collection process can be explored in Edge’s privacy settings.
For a more detailed glimpse into your personal data, visit the Microsoft Privacy Dashboard. Here, you can view what data is collected and clear any unnecessary records by logging into your Microsoft account. To enhance your privacy further, it’s critical to adjust several settings within Edge.
Disabling Personalization and Advertising Features
The foundation of Edge’s Site Suggestions is its data collection mechanism. Therefore, the first step in curtailing these automatic suggestions is to disable these collection features.
Here’s how to do this:
- Launch Edge and click on the three-dot menu situated at the upper right corner.
- Select Settings followed by Privacy, search, and services.
- Scroll to Personalization & advertising and switch it off.
Steps to Disable Edge Site Suggestions
After deactivating personalization, it’s vital to stop Edge from loading websites automatically upon startup.
Follow these instructions:
- Open the Settings menu in Edge.
- Navigate to Privacy, search, and services, then select Search and connected experiences.
- Scroll to find Site Suggestions and toggle it into the ‘off’ position.
Clearing Your Browsing History
Even after adjusting the settings, you may still experience unwanted sites appearing upon startup. This often occurs because Edge references your stored browsing history. A straightforward solution is to clear your browsing history.
Here’s how to do it:
- Access the Settings section in Edge.
- Go to Privacy, search, and services, followed by Clear browsing data.
- Choose Choose what to clear every time you close the browser.
Pick the items you wish to delete each time you close Edge. While I opted to clear everything, consider retaining certain data, such as saved passwords or autofill options, if you frequently utilize these features.
Site Suggestions vs. Suggested Sites
Many browsers, including Edge, also offer suggested sites as you type in the address bar, based on your history and searches. However, this differs from the Site Suggestions feature recently implemented. Currently, not all users have access to Site Suggestions as Microsoft is still testing this feature.
If you wish to disable additional suggested sites, go to Edge’s Settings, navigate to Privacy, search, and services, then to Address bar and search. There, you can manage settings for search suggestions and filters.
Disable all relevant settings to prevent Edge from showing personalized recommendations as you type. You may still need to clear your browsing history for changes to take full effect.
Exploring Alternatives to Edge
If you’re not satisfied with Edge’s approach to suggestions and history utilization, consider alternative browsers that prioritize your privacy, like Epic or Brave. These options center their functionality around user data protection. Alternatively, if you rely on Edge’s gaming capabilities, consider other gaming-focused browsers with privacy features that align more closely with your preferences.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How can I quickly disable Site Suggestions in Microsoft Edge?
To disable Site Suggestions, open Microsoft Edge, click on the three-dot menu, navigate to Settings, then Privacy, search, and services. Find Site Suggestions and switch it off.
2. Will disabling Site Suggestions affect my browsing experience negatively?
Not necessarily. While Site Suggestions may sometimes offer relevant sites, disabling it will give you a cleaner startup experience without automatically loading pages from your browsing history.
3. Can I still receive search suggestions if I turn off Site Suggestions?
Yes, search suggestions as you type in the address bar are separate from Site Suggestions. You can choose to keep search suggestions while disabling Site Suggestions.
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