{"id":146862,"date":"2025-07-08T00:01:41","date_gmt":"2025-07-08T04:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/?p=146862"},"modified":"2025-07-08T00:01:41","modified_gmt":"2025-07-08T04:01:41","slug":"how-to-set-up-edge-for-optimum-privacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/how-to-set-up-edge-for-optimum-privacy\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Set Up Edge For Optimum Privacy"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"daves-925378100\" class=\"daves-single-post-before-content\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/?s=edge\">Edge browser<\/a> is not exactly renowned for its privacy. I do realize, however, that a lot of folks use Edge because it is already built into Windows, and besides which, it is a pretty decent browser. Here, then, are the settings you can adjust in order to optimize your privacy in Edge.<\/p>\n<p>There is a lot to get through, so much of what follows consists of screenshots. However, they are pretty much self-explanatory, and I&#8217;ll pop in a brief explanation here and there as required. To access these settings in Edge, you need to navigate to the <strong>Privacy, search, and services<\/strong> section:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tracking Protection: S<\/strong>et to Strict<\/p>\n<p>(Click images to enlarge)<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Tracking-Protection.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-146865\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Tracking-Protection-640x383.png\" alt=\"edge-tracking-protection.\" width=\"640\" height=\"383\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Tracking-Protection-640x383.png 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Tracking-Protection-350x209.png 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Tracking-Protection-150x90.png 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Tracking-Protection-768x460.png 768w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Tracking-Protection.png 812w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p><div id=\"daves-2385127172\" class=\"daves-single-post-in-content\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/how-to-clear-browsing-data-on-closing-edge\/\"><strong>Clear Browsing Data<\/strong><\/a>: Click &#8220;<em>Choose what to clear every time you close the browser&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Clear-Browsring-History.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-146869\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Clear-Browsring-History-640x345.png\" alt=\"edge-clear-browsing-history\" width=\"640\" height=\"345\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Clear-Browsring-History-640x345.png 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Clear-Browsring-History-350x189.png 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Clear-Browsring-History-150x81.png 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Clear-Browsring-History-768x414.png 768w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Clear-Browsring-History.png 816w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Clear Browsing Data &gt; Cookies and other site data<\/strong>: Provides optimum cookie management. With this option enabled (which I recommend), you can add exceptions for sites where you are required to sign in. All other cookies will be cleared, while the persistent cookies that include login info will be retained. It may take time to set this up initially, but in my opinion, well worth the effort.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Manage-Cookies.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-146870\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Manage-Cookies-640x104.png\" alt=\"edge-manage-cookies\" width=\"640\" height=\"104\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Manage-Cookies-640x104.png 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Manage-Cookies-350x57.png 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Manage-Cookies-150x24.png 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Manage-Cookies-768x125.png 768w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Manage-Cookies.png 807w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Privacy: A<\/strong>ll disabled except for &#8220;<em>Send Do Not Track<\/em>&#8221; requests<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Privacy.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-146866\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Privacy-640x346.png\" alt=\"edge-privacy\" width=\"640\" height=\"346\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Privacy-640x346.png 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Privacy-350x189.png 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Privacy-150x81.png 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Privacy-768x415.png 768w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Privacy.png 808w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Security<\/strong>: <strong>Every option in this section should be enabled (switched to ON)<\/strong><\/p><div id=\"daves-739054185\" class=\"daves-single-post-in-content-2\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Security &#8211; Use secure DNS<\/strong>: This is set to your current ISP by default, which is about as far from secure (and private) as you can get. Enable the option to <strong>Choose a service provider<\/strong> and then select a provider from the dropdown list of options. <a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/cloudflares-new-privacy-focused-dns-service\/\">Cloudflare<\/a> would be my recommendation:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Secure-DNS.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-146867\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Secure-DNS-640x313.png\" alt=\"edge-secure-dns\" width=\"640\" height=\"313\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Secure-DNS-640x313.png 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Secure-DNS-350x171.png 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Secure-DNS-150x73.png 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Secure-DNS-768x375.png 768w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Secure-DNS.png 794w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Cookies<\/strong>: Are possibly the most misunderstood aspect of a browser. Cookies are not the evil incarnate many users believe them to be, but rather an essential (and mostly benign) component. Cookies save site preferences and other data that simplifies the browsing experience. Most importantly, persistent cookies remember your account login details so you don&#8217;t need to keep signing in each time you visit.<\/p>\n<p>For optimum privacy I guess the user should disable the option to &#8220;<em>Allow sites to save and read cookie data<\/em>&#8220;. However, in my opinion, the inconvenience of needing to keep signing in to accounts at each visit outweighs any privacy concerns (see <strong>Clear Browsing Data &gt; Cookies and other site data\u00a0<\/strong>above)<\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, third-party cookies can and often are used by advertising companies to profile you, plus as a tracking tool:<\/p><div id=\"daves-1155593005\" class=\"daves-single-post-in-content-3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Cookies.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-146868\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Cookies-640x176.png\" alt=\"edge-cookies\" width=\"640\" height=\"176\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Cookies-640x176.png 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Cookies-350x96.png 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Cookies-150x41.png 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Cookies-768x211.png 768w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Cookies.png 809w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Site Permissions &gt; All permissions<\/strong>: Clicking <strong>All Permissions<\/strong> opens a long list of permissions pertaining to each and every site you visit. Most are set to &#8220;<em>Ask first<\/em>&#8220;, which is perfectly fine. There is not a lot to be worried about here, but I have disabled (blocked) the <strong>Location<\/strong> permission. Your location might be relevant on a laptop (when travelling), but on a stationary PC, I see no benefit.<\/p>\n<p>You might also like to make sure <strong>Pop-ups and redirects<\/strong>, <strong>Intrusive ads<\/strong>, and <strong>Insecure content<\/strong> are all blocked (Note: They should be blocked by default).<\/p>\n<p><strong>Search and connected experiences<\/strong>: All disabled (set to OFF):<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Search-and-Connected-Experiences.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-146871\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Search-and-Connected-Experiences-640x350.png\" alt=\"edge-search-and-connected-experiences\" width=\"640\" height=\"350\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Search-and-Connected-Experiences-640x350.png 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Search-and-Connected-Experiences-350x191.png 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Search-and-Connected-Experiences-150x82.png 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Search-and-Connected-Experiences-768x420.png 768w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Search-and-Connected-Experiences.png 814w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Search and connected experiences &gt; Address bar and search<\/strong>: Bing is the default <a title=\"Search Results \u2013 You Get What\u2019s Been Paid For\" href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/search-results-you-get-whats-been-paid-for\/\" data-wpil-monitor-id=\"136\">search engine<\/a>. Expand the dropdown menu and select <strong>DuckDuckGo<\/strong>:<\/p><div id=\"daves-1242438885\" class=\"daves-single-post-in-content-4\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Search-Engine-Options-1.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-146872\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Search-Engine-Options-1-640x241.png\" alt=\"edge-search-engine-options\" width=\"640\" height=\"241\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Search-Engine-Options-1-640x241.png 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Search-Engine-Options-1-350x132.png 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Search-Engine-Options-1-150x56.png 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Search-Engine-Options-1-768x289.png 768w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/Edge-Search-Engine-Options-1.png 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>BOTTOM LINE<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p>There is no such thing as 100% online privacy, but with a little tweaking, you can at least limit your exposure. Personally, I use the <a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/brave-browser-review-first-impressions\/\">Brave browser<\/a>, which is, in my opinion, the most privacy-focused of the mainstream browsers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n<div id=\"daves-2002654495\" class=\"daves-after-content\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"3225321574\" \ndata-ad-format=\"autorelaxed\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Edge browser is not exactly renowned for its privacy. I do realize, however, that a lot of folks use Edge because it is already built into Windows, and besides which, it is a pretty decent browser. Here, then, are the settings you can adjust [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146897,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[264,128],"tags":[4611,127],"class_list":["post-146862","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-browser","category-privacy-2","tag-edge","tag-privacy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146897"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}