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Microsoft Edge’s privacy controls are distributed across tracking prevention, diagnostic-data sharing, search suggestions, sync, cookies, site permissions, local deletion, InPrivate, and your Microsoft account dashboard. To limit collection effectively, review each control separately, choose the compatibility level you can live with, clear only the data you intend to remove, and then verify both the browser profile and account-level activity.

Menu names and available options can differ by Windows, macOS, mobile platform, Edge release, or an organization’s policy. If a control is unavailable or marked as managed, only the administrator can change it.

Understand where Edge data can exist

Before changing settings, identify which copy of information you are trying to limit. A browser profile can hold data on the current device, sync can replicate selected data to other signed-in devices, and Microsoft account services can retain activity in a separate privacy-dashboard location.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.
Location What it can contain How to manage it
Current Edge profile and device Browsing and download history, cookies, cached files, saved passwords, autofill data, site permissions and other profile settings. Edge’s Clear browsing data, cookie controls and site-permission pages.
Synced devices Items such as browsing history when history sync is enabled. Sync settings and the clear-data dialog; selected history can be removed across synced devices.
Microsoft account activity Activity associated with Microsoft products, including Edge browsing activity when the relevant sync or personalized-experience settings are enabled. The Microsoft privacy dashboard, separately from the browser profile.

Deleting a local copy does not automatically mean every account-associated record is gone. Conversely, changing an account setting does not necessarily erase cookies or passwords stored in the current profile.

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Open Edge’s privacy controls

  1. Open Microsoft Edge and select Settings and more (…) in the upper-right corner.
  2. Select Settings.
  3. Open Privacy, search, and services.

Start with the Privacy controls and Tracking prevention. Continue through the sections for search and connected experiences, cookies, site permissions and clearing browsing data. Some diagnostic controls may be controlled by your employer or school, and Microsoft says the settings shown can vary by platform.

Choose a tracking-prevention level

Tracking prevention changes which trackers Edge blocks, not whether a website can ever identify activity. Microsoft’s support guidance labels Balanced as the recommended/default level because it blocks many cross-site trackers while preserving compatibility.

Level What Edge blocks Personalization and compatibility
Basic Potentially harmful trackers. Most other trackers, including those used for content or advertising personalization, remain allowed. Highest compatibility and most personalization; least tracking reduction.
Balanced (Recommended) Potentially harmful trackers and trackers from sites you have not visited. A middle ground between privacy and page functionality.
Strict Most cross-site trackers. Least personalization, with a greater chance that pages, embedded content or sign-in flows will not work as expected.

Set the level

  1. Go to Settings and more (…) > Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
  2. Under Tracking prevention, turn the feature on if necessary.
  3. Choose Basic, Balanced or Strict.

Use Strict when minimizing cross-site tracking is more important than seamless operation. If a trusted site breaks, switch temporarily to Balanced or investigate a site-specific exception rather than leaving every site less protected.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Inspect a site and add an exception only when necessary

To see what Edge blocked on a particular page, select the site-information icon at the left of the address bar and inspect the tracker information. Edge can allow trackers for a trusted-site exception. That exception also permits potentially harmful trackers on that site, so treat it as a troubleshooting measure, not a general privacy setting.

After the site works again, return to the tracking-prevention exceptions list and remove entries you no longer need. A site can change its behavior over time, making an old exception unnecessary.

For details on the three levels and exceptions, see Microsoft’s Learn about tracking prevention in Microsoft Edge.

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Limit data sent for diagnostics and suggestions

Tracking prevention is separate from data-sharing choices. Disabling one does not disable optional diagnostics, address-bar suggestions, history sync or connected experiences.

Free tools Windows power users keep installed

One-click scans. No signup required.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Turn off optional diagnostic data

  1. Open Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
  2. Scroll to Privacy.
  3. Turn off Send optional diagnostic data to improve Microsoft products.

The switch may be unavailable when an organization manages it. Microsoft also notes that availability differs by platform. This control concerns optional diagnostic sharing; it is not a master switch for every type of Edge data.

Stop address-bar characters being sent for suggestions

When search suggestions are enabled, characters you type in the address bar are sent to the default search provider so suggestions can appear while you type. To limit that flow:

  1. In Settings > Privacy, search, and services, open Search and connected experiences.
  2. Select Address bar and search.
  3. Under Search suggestions and filters, turn off the option that provides search suggestions as you type.

With suggestions disabled, you give up immediate completions in exchange for not sending those typed characters for that suggestion service.

Review history sync and connected experiences

History sync and connected or personalized experiences are independent settings. If history sync is enabled, browsing history can be synchronized to other signed-in devices. Microsoft also documents sharing browsing history for connected experiences. Review the sync categories and any connected-experience or personalized-advertising choices instead of assuming the optional-diagnostics switch controls them.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Microsoft describes these controls and their data implications in Microsoft Edge, browsing data, and privacy.

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Control cookies and stored site data

Cookies can support authentication, shopping carts, preferences and other page functions, but they can also enable tracking. Blocking all cookies or deleting them can break pages and sign you out of most websites. Prefer a specific-site decision when you need to restrict one service without disrupting every site.

Inspect or remove cookies for a site

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
  2. Under Cookies, select See all cookies and site data.
  3. Search for a domain, expand its entry and remove the stored items you no longer want.

The same area lets you block cookies for selected sites or clear cookies automatically whenever Edge closes. Test important sign-in and payment pages after making a change.

Microsoft’s cookie instructions are in Manage cookies in Microsoft Edge.

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Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Audit site permissions

Open Settings > Cookies and site permissions (or select Site permissions from the privacy settings page, depending on your release). Review permissions such as:

  • Location
  • Camera and microphone
  • Notifications
  • Pop-ups and redirects
  • Automatic downloads
  • Media autoplay
  • Cookies and site data

Change only permissions a site does not need. For precise location, review the site’s privacy policy and grant access per site when required instead of enabling broad access by default. Microsoft’s browser-history guidance also covers site-permission management: View and delete browser history in Microsoft Edge.

Clear only the local data you intend to remove

Use the clear-data dialog when you want to remove information from the current Edge profile. Do not select every box automatically: cookies can sign you out, passwords can disappear, and autofill data can be useful.

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Procedure

  1. Open Settings and more (…) > Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
  2. Under Clear browsing data, select Choose what to clear.
  3. Choose a Time range, such as the last hour, 24 hours, seven days, four weeks or all time, according to the version shown.
  4. Tick only the data categories you want to remove.
  5. Select Clear now.
Data type Effect of clearing it Important consequence
Browsing history Removes the list of visited pages for the selected range. If history sync is on, Microsoft says the selected history can be cleared across synced devices.
Download history Removes the list shown in Edge. It does not delete the downloaded files themselves.
Cookies and other site data Removes cookies and related stored site data. Signs you out of most sites and can reset preferences or carts.
Cached images and files Removes locally cached copies used to load pages faster. Pages may load more slowly while the cache is rebuilt.
Passwords Deletes saved credentials selected in the dialog. You may lose the only browser-saved copy; confirm that you have another record first.
Autofill form data Removes saved names, addresses and other form entries. Forms will no longer populate those values automatically.
Site permissions Resets permissions granted to sites. Sites will ask again for access to features such as location or notifications.

You can clear browsing history and cookies while leaving passwords and autofill unchecked. The exact categories and time-range labels can vary by Edge release.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

Separate browser deletion from Microsoft account activity

If your goal is to remove activity associated with your Microsoft account, use the privacy dashboard as a separate step. The dashboard can show or clear activity tied to Microsoft products and provide controls such as advertising settings.

  1. Open Microsoft’s View your data on the privacy dashboard guidance and follow the link to the dashboard.
  2. Sign in to the Microsoft account whose activity you want to review.
  3. Open the activity category you want to inspect, such as browsing history, and delete entries or the available range.
  4. Return to Edge and review sync and personalized-experience settings so new activity is not shared in the same way.

Microsoft explains that Edge browsing activity can appear on the dashboard when history sync or personalized advertising and experiences for Microsoft services are enabled. The dashboard and the current browser profile are separate locations, so check both when you need a more complete cleanup. See Browsing history on the privacy dashboard for the history-specific details.

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Know what InPrivate does—and does not do

InPrivate changes what Edge stores in the local profile. Microsoft says InPrivate and guest mode turn off automatic suggestions and do not add visited-site information to browsing history. They are useful for reducing local traces on a shared computer, but they are not an anonymity system.

  • Websites can still track activity during an InPrivate session.
  • Network operators, employers, schools and internet providers may still be able to observe network activity.
  • Some usage information may still be collected depending on Windows diagnostic settings or Edge privacy settings.
  • Files you download and bookmarks you create can remain after the window closes.

Microsoft states: “Websites may still track your activities even when a Do Not Track request is sent.” That sentence appears in Microsoft Edge, browsing data, and privacy. A Do Not Track request is only a preference signal; it does not force a site to stop tracking.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

For Microsoft’s security and privacy explanation of InPrivate, see Securely browse the web in Microsoft Edge.

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Verify that your changes took effect

After editing settings, perform a short audit rather than assuming one switch handled everything.

  1. Reopen Privacy, search, and services and confirm the tracking-prevention level and optional-diagnostics setting.
  2. Open Address bar and search and verify the search-suggestion choice.
  3. Check the sync categories for the signed-in profile, especially browsing history.
  4. Use See all cookies and site data to confirm that a site-specific block or deletion is present.
  5. Visit Site permissions and review location, notifications, camera, microphone and pop-up access.
  6. Open the privacy dashboard in a separate tab and verify account-associated activity there.
  7. Test a site that previously failed, particularly if you selected Strict tracking prevention or blocked cookies.

Troubleshoot common results

A site no longer signs in

Strict tracking prevention or blocked/deleted cookies may have removed a required session or cross-site component. Confirm the site’s address, allow cookies or trackers only for that trusted site, and remove the exception when it is no longer needed.

Saved passwords disappeared

The clear-data dialog may have included Passwords. Check the selected categories and time range before clearing again. If the passwords were also synchronized or stored elsewhere, verify those locations separately; do not assume browser deletion can be undone.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

History returned on another device

History sync may still be enabled on a signed-in device. Review sync settings on each device and check the Microsoft privacy dashboard, because synchronized history and account-associated activity are distinct locations.

A privacy switch is unavailable

The option may be unsupported on your platform or managed by an organization policy. On a work or school device, contact the administrator rather than trying to bypass the setting.

Search suggestions still appear

Recheck Search and connected experiences > Address bar and search > Search suggestions and filters. Also distinguish search suggestions from browsing-history suggestions or suggestions supplied by extensions; those can be controlled separately.

A practical privacy setup

For most people, start with Balanced tracking prevention, disable optional diagnostic data when the control is available, turn off address-bar suggestions if sending typed characters concerns you, and keep cookies enabled except where a specific site warrants a block. Review history sync before clearing data, then use the privacy dashboard when the objective includes Microsoft account activity. Choose Strict only when you accept that some pages or sign-ins may require exceptions or troubleshooting.

Special offer. See more information about Outbyte and uninstall instructions. Please review EULA and Privacy policy.

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