Brett In Tech - 12 Microsoft Edge Settings You Should Change Immediately!
The video provides a guide on optimizing Microsoft Edge browser settings to enhance performance, privacy, and productivity. Key recommendations include enabling strict tracking prevention to block a wide range of trackers, thus enhancing privacy. Users are advised to enable the scareware blocker, which uses AI to prevent scareware scams. Changing the default search engine to DuckDuckGo is suggested for better privacy. The video also explains how to disable the Copilot sidebar for a cleaner interface and how to remove the distracting news feed from the homepage. Additionally, it covers enabling vertical tabs for easier navigation, using the split-screen feature for multitasking, and removing the favorites bar to save screen space. To further protect privacy, blocking third-party cookies and disabling background apps when Edge is closed are recommended. Finally, it advises turning off personalized ads and blocking media autoplay to improve user experience.
Key Points:
- Enable strict tracking prevention for enhanced privacy.
- Use the scareware blocker to prevent scams.
- Switch default search engine to DuckDuckGo for better privacy.
- Disable Copilot sidebar and news feed for a cleaner interface.
- Block third-party cookies and disable background apps for improved performance.
Details:
1. 🔧 Introduction to Microsoft Edge Settings
- Changing default settings in Microsoft Edge can enhance browser performance, privacy, and productivity.
- Modifying certain settings is recommended for a better user experience.
- The focus will be on speeding up performance, enhancing privacy, and improving productivity.
2. 🔒 Enable Strict Tracking Prevention
- Strict tracking prevention offers the most restrictive level of tracker blocking, enhancing privacy.
- To enable, click the three-dot menu in the upper right corner, select 'Settings', then 'Privacy, Search, and Services', and choose 'Tracking Prevention'.
- Select 'Strict' mode for best protection; it blocks a majority of trackers and known harmful trackers.
- Enabling 'Strict' mode may result in minimal content personalization and some site functionalities might not work.
- Personal experience indicates no issues with site functionality when using 'Strict' mode over several years.
3. 🚫 Activate Scareware Blocker
- Enable the Scareware Blocker in the Privacy, Search, and Services settings to protect against scams.
- The feature uses AI and machine learning to identify and block scareware scams like full-screen takeovers.
- Scams often involve fake hacking alerts and fraudulent support numbers.
- The Scareware Blocker is off by default and needs to be activated manually.
- Once activated, it exits full screen when scams are detected, enhancing security.
4. 🔍 Change Default Search Engine
- Microsoft Edge defaults to using Bing as its search engine.
- To change the default search engine in Edge, open the browser settings and navigate to 'Privacy, Search, and Services.'
- In the 'Address bar and search' section, use the drop-down menu to select a different search engine like Yahoo, Google, DuckDuckGo, or Yandex.
- Choosing DuckDuckGo is recommended for users prioritizing privacy.
- Consider the trade-offs: Google may offer better search results, but DuckDuckGo provides enhanced privacy.
- A step-by-step visual guide can assist users unfamiliar with these settings.
5. 🤖 Managing Copilot Sidebar
- To manage the Copilot sidebar in Edge, click on the icon in the upper right to open it.
- For users preferring a cleaner interface, disable the Copilot sidebar by accessing the left pane settings, selecting Copilot, and toggling off the sidebar feature.
- Disabling the Copilot sidebar can enhance user experience for those not wishing to use this AI feature.
6. 📰 Customize Homepage and News Feed
- To reduce distractions on Edge, customize your homepage by selecting 'Feed layout' and choosing 'Headings' to move the news feed to the second page.
- Completely remove the news feed by navigating to 'Page settings' and toggling off 'Show content' or 'Show feed'.
- Streamline your homepage by disabling unnecessary widgets such as weather, sports, and stocks.
- Enable or disable homepage backgrounds by hovering over the information icon and selecting 'See all background images', with an option to change daily.
7. 📑 Use Vertical Tabs
- Vertical tabs can be easily turned on by clicking the tab actions menu in the upper left and selecting 'Turn on vertical tabs'.
- With vertical tabs enabled, tab icons are displayed on the left side, and hovering over them reveals full descriptions of the open tabs.
- To revert back to horizontal tabs, simply return to the tab actions menu and select the appropriate option.
8. 🖥️ Enable Split Screen
- Split screen is essential when only one monitor is available, facilitating multitasking such as working on an online document while researching on another site.
- To enable split screen, go to settings, click on appearance, scroll to other appearance settings, select toolbar, and enable the split screen button.
- Once activated, the split screen button will appear on the toolbar to the right of the address bar for easy access.
- To use the feature, select a tab for the left screen, click split screen, and choose another tab for the right screen.
- Ensure to troubleshoot common issues by checking if the browser supports split screen or if any extensions are interfering.
9. ⭐ Optimize Favorites Bar
- Removing the favorites bar can declutter your browser interface, reclaiming valuable screen space, which is especially useful on smaller screens.
- You can still access favorites easily via the three-dot menu in the upper right corner, ensuring no loss in functionality.
- To disable the favorites bar, navigate to the 'Appearance' and 'Toolbar' settings, then select 'Never' under 'Show Favorites Bar'.
- Consider how often you use the favorites bar before removing it, as it might affect your browsing efficiency.
10. 🍪 Block Third-Party Cookies
- Third-party cookies track user activity across different websites, posing a privacy concern by allowing advertisers and other entities to follow user behavior.
- Edge browser does not automatically block third-party cookies, requiring manual action from users to enhance privacy.
- To block third-party cookies in Edge, users should go to settings, select 'cookies and site permissions,' and toggle 'block third-party cookies' to on.
- Blocking third-party cookies may disrupt some non-essential website features, which can affect user experience but enhances privacy protection.
11. 🔋 Stop Background Apps
- When you close Microsoft Edge, various extensions and web apps may continue to run in the background, consuming system resources.
- To stop background apps, navigate to 'Settings', click on 'System and Performance', and disable the 'Continue running background extensions and apps when Microsoft Edge is closed' option.
12. 📊 Enhance Privacy Settings
- Microsoft uses your browsing activity to show targeted ads, shopping recommendations, and curated news. This can impact user privacy by sharing personal data with third-party advertisers.
- To prevent Microsoft from using your data for these purposes, navigate to 'Privacy, search, and services' in your settings.
- Turn off 'Personalization and advertising' to enhance privacy. This simple step can significantly reduce data sharing with external parties.
- Turning off these settings can help protect your privacy while using Microsoft's services, providing a more secure and personalized browsing experience.
13. 🔇 Disable Media Autoplay
- Media autoplay can disrupt user experience and unnecessarily consume system resources, making it beneficial to disable this feature.
- To disable media autoplay, access your browser settings: Navigate to 'Cookies and Site Permissions', then click on 'All Permissions'.
- Scroll to 'Media Autoplay' and select 'Block' from the drop-down menu to prevent audio and video from playing automatically.
- Note: Instructions may vary slightly depending on your browser type, so check for specific options available in your browser settings.