Microsoft Edge has come a long way since its early days. With its sleek design, fast performance, and user-friendly interface, it’s become one of the top browsers today. But to truly make the most of your browsing experience, adjusting a few settings can make all the difference. Here are 10 Microsoft Edge settings I changed to enhance my browsing experience, boosting both speed and efficiency.
Enabled Sleeping Tabs
One of the most useful features that I enabled in Microsoft Edge is Sleeping Tabs. This feature helps improve the browser’s performance by putting unused tabs to sleep, freeing up system resources and memory. When a tab is put to sleep, it stops using processing power and can easily be awakened when you click on it again. This is especially useful when you have multiple tabs open but don’t need all of them actively running.
How to enable it:
Go to Settings > System and performance.
Toggle on the “Save resources with sleeping tabs” option.
Set My Default Search Engine to Google
Although Microsoft Edge uses Bing as the default search engine, I prefer to use Google for searches. Switching search engines in Edge is straightforward and gives me the search results I’m more comfortable with.
How to change it:
Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
Under “Services”, click on Address bar and search.
Select Google from the list of search engines or add it manually.
Enabled Tracking Prevention
Privacy is a top concern for many users, and Microsoft Edge offers an excellent feature called Tracking Prevention. This feature blocks websites from tracking your browsing activity across the web, helping to protect your privacy and speed up page load times. The settings offer three levels of tracking prevention: Basic, Balanced, and Strict. I set mine to Strict for maximum privacy protection.
How to enable it:
Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
Under Tracking prevention, toggle the slider to Strict.
Turned on Startup Boost
Microsoft Edge now comes with a Startup Boost feature that speeds up the browser’s launch time. This feature makes sure Edge is ready to go as soon as you click on it, without making you wait for it to load.
How to enable it:
Go to Settings > System and performance.
Turn on Startup boost.
Customizing the New Tab Page
The New Tab page in Edge can be customized to suit your preferences. I changed mine to show a custom background, quick links to my favorite sites, and a personalized news feed. This makes it easier to access important websites and stay up-to-date with the latest headlines when I open a new tab.
How to customize it:
Open a new tab, click the gear icon at the top-right corner.
Choose a layout that works best for you, like Focused, Inspirational, or Informational.
Adjust the background, themes, and content to your liking.
Enabled Microsoft Defender SmartScreen
Microsoft Defender SmartScreen helps protect against phishing attacks and malware by warning you about malicious websites. I enabled this setting to ensure a safer browsing experience, especially when I’m visiting unfamiliar websites.
How to enable it:
Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
Under Security, toggle on Microsoft Defender SmartScreen.
Turned Off Preloading Pages
Although preloading pages can improve browsing speed, it also uses more data and resources. Since I don’t always need the pages preloaded, I turned off this setting to conserve system resources and avoid unnecessary data usage.
How to disable it:
Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
Under Services, turn off Preload pages for faster browsing and searching.
Enabled Password Manager and Autofill
I use Microsoft Edge’s built-in Password Manager to store my passwords securely. This makes logging into websites faster and safer. Additionally, I enabled the Autofill feature to save time when filling out forms, whether it’s for addresses, payment details, or other personal information.
How to enable them:
Go to Settings > Profiles > Passwords.
Toggle on Offer to save passwords.
Go to Settings > Autofill and turn on Forms and Payment info.
Turned on Dark Mode
Dark Mode has been proven to reduce eye strain, especially when browsing at night. I switched Edge to Dark Mode to make my browsing experience more comfortable in low-light conditions and to give the browser a sleeker, modern look.
How to enable it:
Go to Settings > Appearance.
Under Theme, select Dark.
Cleared Browsing Data on Exit
To maintain my privacy and free up space, I’ve set Microsoft Edge to clear browsing data every time I exit the browser. This ensures that cookies, cached files, and other temporary data are deleted automatically, keeping my browser fresh and my personal information secure.
How to enable it:
Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services.
Under Clear browsing data, toggle on “Choose what to clear every time you close the browser”.
Conclusion
With Microsoft Edge, you have a range of settings that can be customized to fit your unique browsing habits and priorities. By adjusting these 10 settings, I’ve enhanced my browsing experience in terms of speed, privacy, and convenience. Whether it’s turning on Sleeping Tabs to save resources or switching to Google for search, these small changes make a noticeable difference. Explore the settings in Edge to find what works best for you and transform the way you use the browser.
