Software:Microsoft Edge

Short description: Web browser developed by Microsoft

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge on Windows 11
Original author(s)	Microsoft
Developer(s)	Microsoft
Initial release	July 29, 2015 (2015-07-29)
Stable release(s) [±]
Stable Channel 114.0.1823.37 / 2 June 2023 (2 June 2023) Extended Stable Channel 114.0.1823.37 / 2 June 2023 (2 June 2023)
Written in	C++
Engines	Android: Blink iOS/iPadOS: WebKit macOS: Blink Microsoft Windows: EdgeHTML (2014–2019) Blink (2019–present) Linux: Blink Xbox One: EdgeHTML (until 2021) Blink (from 2021) Xbox Series X/S: EdgeHTML (until 2021) Blink (from 2021)
Operating system	Android iOS macOS 10.15 or later Windows 10, Windows Server 2016 or later Linux (specifically Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, and openSUSE distributions)
Platform	IA-32 x86-64 ARM32 ARM64
Included with	Windows 10 Windows 10 Mobile Windows 11 Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S system software
Predecessor	Internet Explorer
License	Proprietary software, based on an open source project
Website	microsoft.com/edge

Microsoft Edge (or simply Edge) is a proprietary, AI-powered cross-platform web browser created by Microsoft. Released in 2015 as part of Windows 10 and Xbox One, it was initially built with Microsoft's own proprietary browser engine, EdgeHTML, and their Chakra JavaScript engine. Later on, it was ported to Android and iOS as a fork of Google's Chromium open-source project. In late 2018, Microsoft announced it would completely rebuild Edge as a Chromium-based browser with Blink and V8 engines, which allowed the browser to be ported to macOS. The new Edge was publicly released in January 2020, and on Xbox platforms in 2021. Microsoft has since terminated security support for the original browser (now referred to as Microsoft Edge Legacy), and Edge is also available on older Windows versions (Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and later were supported until early 2023), as well as Linux.

Although it was created as the successor to Internet Explorer (IE), Internet Explorer 11 remained available alongside Edge on Windows 10 for compatibility until 2023, when it was removed. In Windows 11, Edge is the default web browser, as well as the only browser available from Microsoft (for compatibility with Google Chrome). However, it includes an "Internet Explorer mode," aimed at fixing compatibility issues; it provides the legacy MSHTML browser engine and supports the legacy ActiveX and BHO technologies.

In May 2022, according to StatCounter, Microsoft Edge became the second most popular browser in the world, overtaking Apple Safari (in some countries, such as the United States, Edge is the 3rd most popular, where it has a 14% share, slightly behind Safari's 16% share). (As of September 2022), Edge is used by 11% of PCs worldwide.

Features

Microsoft Edge is the default web browser on Windows 10, Windows 10 Mobile, Windows 11, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, replacing Internet Explorer 11 and Internet Explorer Mobile. As its development and release is dependent on the model of Windows as a service, it is not included in Windows 10 Enterprise Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) builds.

Microsoft initially announced that Edge would support the legacy MSHTML (Trident) browser engine for backward compatibility, but later said that, due to "strong feedback", Edge would use a new engine, while Internet Explorer would continue to provide the legacy engine. The developer toolset of the EdgeHTML-based versions featured an option to emulate the rendering behaviour ("document mode") of Internet Explorer versions 5 to 11.

Favorites, reading list, browsing history and downloads are viewed at the Hub, a sidebar providing functionality similar to Internet Explorer's Downloads manager and Favorites Center.

Edge features a built-in PDF reader, and supports WebAssembly. Until January 2021, Edge also featured an integrated Adobe Flash Player (with an internal whitelist allowing Flash applets on Facebook websites to load automatically, bypassing all other security controls requiring user activation).

Edge does not support legacy technologies such as ActiveX and Browser Helper Objects, instead it uses an extension system.

Internet Explorer 11 remained available alongside Edge on Windows 10 for compatibility until 2023, when it was removed. It remained identical to the Windows 8.1 version and did not use the Edge engine as was previously announced. In Windows 11, Edge became the only browser available from Microsoft. However, it includes an "Internet Explorer mode", aimed at fixing compatibility issues; it provides the legacy MSHTML browser engine and supports the legacy ActiveX and BHO technologies.

Edge integrates with Microsoft's online platforms to provide voice control, search functionality, and dynamic information related to searches within the address bar. Users can make annotations to web pages that can be stored to and shared with OneDrive, and can save HTML and MHTML pages to their computers. It also integrates with the "Reading List" function and provides a "Reading Mode" that strips unnecessary formatting from pages to improve their legibility. Edge also has a new feature called vertical tabs which allow users to move tabs on the left side of the screen.

Preliminary support for browser extensions was added in March 2016, with build 14291, three extensions were initially supported. Microsoft indicated that the delay in allowing extensions and the small number was due to security concerns. As of December 2022, there are more than 9,000 extensions—called add-ons—available for Edge.

On February 7, 2023, Microsoft announced a major overhaul to Edge, revamping the user interface with Fluent Design, along with adding a Bing Chat (later known as Microsoft Copilot) button, which replaces the Discover button.

Release strategy

Microsoft Edge Legacy's release cadence was tied to the Windows 10 release cycle and used the Windows Insider Program to preview new versions of the browser. These pre-release builds were known as "Edge Preview". Every major release of Windows included an updated version of Edge and its render engine.

On April 8, 2019, Microsoft announced the introduction of four preview channels: Canary, Dev, Beta, and Stable and launched the Canary and Dev channels that same day with the first preview builds, for those channels, of the new Edge. Microsoft collectively calls the Canary, Dev, and Beta channels the "Microsoft Edge insider channels". As a result, Edge updates were decoupled from new versions of Windows. Major versions of Edge Stable are now scheduled for release every 4 weeks, closely following Chromium version releases.

Surf (video game)

In May 2020, an update to Microsoft Edge added Surf, a browser game where players control a surfer attempting to evade obstacles and collect powerups. Similar to Google Chrome's Dinosaur Game, Surf is accessible from the browser's offline error page and can also be accessed by entering edge://surf into the address bar. The game features three game modes (classic, time trial, and slalom), has character customization, and supports keyboard, mouse, touch, and gamepad controls. Its gameplay has been compared to the 1991 Microsoft video game SkiFree.

In 2021, Surf was updated with limited-time seasonal theming resembling SkiFree. Instead of surfing, the player skis down a mountain while being chased by a yeti.

Development

Edge Legacy (2014–2019)

Project Spartan logo, used on Windows 10 build 10049 to 10137

Microsoft Edge logo, used from July 29, 2015 to November 1, 2019

A screenshot of the Edge Legacy browser, opened to the Wikipedia homepage

In December 2014, writing for ZDNet, technology writer Mary Jo Foley reported that Microsoft was developing a new web browser codenamed "Spartan" for Windows 10. She said that "Spartan" would be treated as a new product separate from Internet Explorer, with Internet Explorer 11 retained alongside it for compatibility.

In early January 2015, The Verge obtained further details surrounding "Spartan" from sources close to Microsoft, including reports that it would replace Internet Explorer on both the desktop and mobile versions of Windows 10. Microsoft officially unveiled "Spartan" during a Windows 10-focused keynote on January 21, 2015. It was described as a separate product from Internet Explorer, its final name was not announced.

"Spartan" was first made publicly available as the default browser of Windows 10 Technical Preview build 10049, released on March 30, 2015. The new engine used by "Spartan" was available in Windows 10 builds as part of Internet Explorer 11, Microsoft later announced that Internet Explorer would be deprecated on Windows 10 and would not use the "Spartan" engine.

On April 29, 2015, during the Build Conference keynote, it was announced that "Spartan" would officially be known as Microsoft Edge. The browser's logo and branding were designed to maintain continuity with the branding of Internet Explorer. The Project "Spartan" branding was used in versions released after Build 2015. On June 25, 2015, Microsoft released version 19.10149 for Windows 10 Mobile which included the new brand. On June 28, 2015, version 20.10158 followed for the desktop versions, also including the updated branding. On July 15, 2015, Microsoft released version 20.10240 as the final release to Insiders. The same version was rolled out to consumers on July 29, 2015.

On August 12, 2015, Microsoft started the preview program for the next version of Microsoft Edge. They released version 20.10512 to Mobile users. 6 days later followed by version 20.10525 for desktop users. The preview received multiple updates. On November 5, 2015, Microsoft released version 25.10586 as the final release for Edge's second public release for desktop users. On November 12, 2015, the update was rolled out to both desktop users and Xbox One users as part of the New Xbox Experience Update. On November 18, 2015, the update was to Windows 10 Mobile. Finally, on November 19, 2015, the update was also made available as part of the Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 4.

In November 2017, Microsoft released ports of Edge for Android and iOS. The apps feature integration and synchronization with the desktop version on Windows 10 PCs. Due to platform restrictions and other factors, these ports do not use the same layout engine as the desktop version and instead use OS-native WebKit-based engines.

In April 2018, Edge added tab audio muting. In June 2018, support for the Web Authentication specifications were added to Windows Insider builds, with support for Windows Hello and external security tokens.

Microsoft stopped supporting Microsoft Edge Legacy on March 9, 2021. On April 13, 2021, Microsoft released a cumulative monthly security update which replaced Edge Legacy with the new Chromium-based Edge.

EdgeHTML

EdgeHTML is the proprietary browser engine originally developed for Edge. It is a fork of MSHTML (Trident) with all legacy code of older versions of Internet Explorer removed, with the majority of its source code rewritten to support web standards and interoperability with other modern browsers. EdgeHTML is written in C++.

The rendering engine was first released as an experimental option in Internet Explorer 11 as part of the Windows 10 Preview 9926 build.

EdgeHTML is meant to be fully compatible with the WebKit layout engine used by Safari, Chrome, and other browsers. Microsoft stated their original acceptance criteria: "Any Edge–WebKit differences are bugs that we're interested in fixing."

A review of the engine in the beta Windows 10 build by AnandTech found substantial benchmark improvements over MSHTML (Trident), particularly its new Chakra JavaScript engine performance, which had come up to par with that of Google Chrome. Other benchmarks focusing on the performance of the WebGL API found EdgeHTML to perform much better than Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox.

Edge Legacy release history

Version	Browser engine	Release date(s)	Highlights
20.10240	EdgeHTML 12.10240	July 15, 2015	First public release, initial release for PC Support for PDFs Pinnable Hub with Favorites, Download manager, Reading List, and History New Tab page with MSN news and search bar Support for inking on webpages Cortana Integration Reading View Dark theme Performance improvements
25.10586	EdgeHTML 13.10586	November 5, 2015	Initial release on Windows 10 Mobile and Xbox One Improved render engine with Pointer Lock support, canvas blending modes, asm.js support by default, and more Object RTC API Improved tab management Tabs can now be previewed by hovering over them Reading list items and favorites are now synced Updated Settings pane Hub options are now available in the ellipses menu Media Casting Cortana Integration with PDFs
EdgeHTML 14.14393	August 2, 2016	Initial release on Windows Holographic Experimental support for VP9 Context menu for navigation buttons Improved favorites management Improved download management Pinned tab support added Ability to copy and paste links in Microsoft Edge added Download reminders Default save locations can be changed Favorite Tree View improvements Experimental JavaScript ES6 Regex symbols support New Web Platform features Improved F12 developer tools Improved accessibility Swipe gestures to navigate back and forward Support for Beacon, Web Notifications, and Fetch API Official support for browser extensions WOFF 2 fonts Support for Color Fonts formats (sbix, OpenType-SVG, COLR/CPAL, CBDT/CBLC)
40.15063	EdgeHTML 15.15063	April 11, 2017	Added CTRL + O keyboard shortcut to set focus to the address bar Partial implementation of Webkit-Text-Stroke and CSS outline-offset Ability to use Snooze to put a website in a Cortana Reminder to make it show up in the Action Center Ability to import and export favorites from and to a file Improved ES6 Modules debugging in F12 Developer Tools H.264/AVC became enabled by default for RTC Support for WebRTC 1.0 and Service Workers (behind flags) Added support for the EPUB file format The "Snooze" feature has been removed Icons of pages in the hub became larger Console filter settings will persist for buttons and context menu Support for the Brotli compressed data format as an HTTP content-encoding method Updated the MS-prefixed FIDO 2.0 implementation to match the latest W3C Web Authentication specification Partial support for CSS Custom Properties (aka CSS Variables) Preliminary support for the IntersectionObserver API Async/await is enabled by default DOM performance improvements Advanced Tab Management Added support for EPUB/PDF read aloud
40.15254.603	EdgeHTML 15.15254	January 14, 2020	Final release on Windows 10 Mobile
41.16299	EdgeHTML 16.16299	September 26, 2017	WebAssembly now enabled by default
42.17134	EdgeHTML 17.17134	April 30, 2018	Support for Progressive Web Apps CSS transforms on SVG elements Support for Notification API
44.17763	EdgeHTML 18.17763	November 13, 2018	Support for Autoplay Policies CSS masking, overflow-wrap, and overscroll-behavior support Improvements to Developer Tools WebP image format support Web Authentication API support High-quality kerning pairs and ligatures Promise.prototype.finally support Remove support for EPUB e-books
EdgeHTML 18.18362	May 21, 2019
EdgeHTML 18.18363	November 12, 2019
EdgeHTML 18.19041	May 27, 2020

New Edge (2019–present)

Codenamed "Anaheim", on December 6, 2018, Microsoft announced its intent to base Edge on the Chromium source code, using the same browser engine as Google Chrome but with enhancements developed by Microsoft. It was also announced that there will be versions of Edge available for Windows 7, Windows 8, and macOS, plus that all versions will be updated on a more frequent basis. According to Microsoft executive Joe Belfiore, the decision for the change came after CEO Satya Nadella told the team in 2017 that the product needed to be better and pushed for replacing its in-house rendering engine with an open source one.

Microsoft Edge running on macOS

On April 8, 2019, the first builds of the new Edge for Windows were released to the public. On May 20, 2019, the first preview builds of Edge for macOS were released to the public, marking the first time in 13 years that a Microsoft browser was available on the Mac platform. The last time a Microsoft browser was available on the Mac platform was Microsoft Internet Explorer for Mac, which was withdrawn in January 2006.

On June 18, 2019, IAmA post on Reddit, an Edge developer stated that it was theoretically possible for a Linux version to be developed in the future, but no work had actually started on that possibility. On June 19, 2019, Microsoft made Edge available on both Windows 7 and Windows 8 for testing. On August 20, 2019, Microsoft made its first beta build of Edge available for Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10 and macOS. August 2019 also saw the removal of support for the EPUB file format. At Microsoft Ignite, Microsoft released an updated version of the Edge logo.

The new Edge was released on January 15, 2020, and was gradually rolled out to all Windows 10 users. The new Edge was also rolled out to Windows 7 and 8.1 users via Windows Update.

On September 22, 2020, Microsoft announced that a beta version of Edge for Linux would be available in preview form in October 2020. This comes after the company announced in November 2019 that a Linux version would be developed and confirmed in May 2020 that the Linux version was in development. The first preview build for Linux was released on October 20, 2020.

Full support for the new Edge on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 was scheduled to end on January 15, 2022, but was later extended to January 15, 2023. The last version of Edge on Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 is version 109.0.

On April 29, 2022, Microsoft announced integrated VPN support for Microsoft Edge, coming in line with this privacy feature with Chrome and Firefox. There will be a free version of the integrated Edge VPN available but is limited to 1 GB of data transfer.

New Edge release history

Version	Browser engine	Release date(s)	Highlights
79.0.309	Blink 79	January 15, 2020	Initial release of the Chromium-based version Support for Windows 7, 8, and 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, and 2019, and macOS
80.0.361	Blink 80	February 7, 2020	Added native support for ARM processors The address bar now shows when a website is using the microphone and camera Added warnings for potentially dangerous downloads Extensions will now show their publisher Added support for restoring sessions of websites that have been installed as apps after an update or crash Added an option to the context menu to sort favorite folders by name Added a new setting to always use Strict Tracking Prevention inside InPrivate windows Extensions that influence the browser's appearance can now be installed from the Chrome Web Store Added support for importing Firefox browser history
81.0.416	Blink 81	April 13, 2020	Added keyboard shortcuts to access Read Aloud and Immersive Reader Added the option to hide the Collections button Improved favorites management with tools to remove duplicate favorites A message will show when another app installs an extension within Microsoft Edge Added support for Windows built-in spellchecker Added support for using cards that have been saved in MSPay to be used on webpages Added support for Dolby Vision Added support for Microsoft Information Protection-enabled PDFs Added 3D viewer in the F12 Developer Tools Added a setting to enable or disable automatic profile switching A dialog shows whenever a new data type is available to sync The InPrivate button now uses a blue background PDF Improvements: Added support for highlighting text in a PDF Added support for web-optimized PDFs that are downloaded one page at a time as they are being viewed Added a page to settings informing users on how to install Microsoft Edge on their smartphone
83.0.478	Blink 83	May 21, 2020	Future updates will roll out gradually to protect users from accidental buggy updates Improvements to Microsoft Defender SmartScreen Added the ability to exempt certain cookies from automatically clearing when the browser closes Added Automatic Profile Switching Collections improvements The user can now drag and drop to add an item to a collection without opening the collection Users can now add multiple items to a collection at once Users can add all tabs in an Edge window into a new collection without adding them individually Extensions from both the Microsoft and Chrome Stores will synchronize with Microsoft Edge on all the user's devices. Improved message on the Downloads management page for insecure downloads that have been blocked Immersive Reader improvements: Added support for Adverbs in the Parts of Speech experience in Immersive Reader Added the ability to select any content on a webpage and open it in Immersive Reader. This enables users to use the Immersive Reader and all the Learning Tools, such as Line Focus and Read Aloud, across all websites Link doctor provides host correction and a search query to users when they mistype a URL Allowed users to save their decision to launch an external protocol for a specific site Users can set Microsoft Edge as their default browser directly from Microsoft Edge Settings, instead of having to search through the operating system settings Several DevTools updates, including new remote debugging support, UI improvements, and more MCAS (Microsoft Cloud Access Security) warn scenario is now available
84.0.522	Blink 84	July 16, 2020	Reduced download delay for Internet Explorer mode site list to 0 seconds (down from 60 seconds) in the absence of a cached site list Also added group policy support for cases when Internet Explorer mode home page navigations needs to be delayed until the site list is downloaded. Allowed users to sign into the browser when Microsoft Edge is "run as administrator" on Windows 10. This will help customers running Microsoft Edge on a Windows server or in remote-desktop and sandbox scenarios Added full mouse support when in full-screen mode. Mouse can be utilized to access tabs, the address bar, and other items without having to exit full-screen mode Added a custom nickname option to saved debit or credit cards, making it easier to distinguish and differentiate cards when making online purchases. Giving nicknames to cards lets the user choose the correct card when using autofill to select a payment method TLS/1.0 and TLS/1.1 are disabled by default To help discover impacted sites, you can set the edge://flags/#display-legacy-tls-warnings flag to cause Microsoft Edge to display a non-blocking "Not Secure" notice when loading pages that require legacy TLS protocols. The SSLVersionMin policy permits re-enabling of TLS/1.0 and TLS/1.1. This policy will remain available until at least Microsoft Edge version 88 Collections improvements Added a note capability allowing you to add a note or comment to an item in a collection Added background color of notes in collections. Color coding can help organize information and increase productivity Improved performance when exporting collections to Excel Storage Access API support, which allows access to first-party storage in a third-party context when a user provides a direct intent to allow storage that would otherwise be blocked by the browser's current configuration Native File System API support, which allows sites can be given permission to edit files or folders via the Native File System API PDF improvements Added Read Aloud for PDF When saving an edit made to a PDF it can be sent back to the original file instead of a copy Added an option to translate in Immersive Reader. DevTools now supports customizing keyboard shortcuts to match any editor/IDE, which includes VS Code
85.0.564	Blink 85	August 27, 2020	On-premises synchronization of Favorites and Settings Group policy support for trusting site + app combos to launch without a confirmation prompt PDF Highlighter tool Storage Access API Send to OneNote is available for Edge Collections DevTools updates Surface Duo emulation VS Code keyboard shortcuts
86.0.622	Blink 86	October 9, 2020
87.0.664	Blink 87	November 19, 2020
88.0.705	Blink 88	January 21, 2021
89.0.774	Blink 89	March 4, 2021
90.0.818	Blink 90	April 15, 2021
91.0.864	Blink 91	May 27, 2021
92.0.902	Blink 92	July 22, 2021
93.0.961	Blink 93	September 2, 2021
94.0.992	Blink 94	September 24, 2021
95.0.1020	Blink 95	October 21, 2021
96.0.1054	Blink 96	January 6, 2022
97.0.1072	Blink 97	January 20, 2022
98.0.1108	Blink 98	February 3, 2022
99.0.1150	Blink 99	March 3, 2022
100.0.1185	Blink 100	April 1, 2022
101.0.1210	Blink 101	April 28, 2022
102.0.1245	Blink 102	May 31, 2022
103.0.1264	Blink 103	June 23, 2022
104.0.1293	Blink 104	August 5, 2022
105.0.1343	Blink 105	September 1, 2022
106.0.1370	Blink 106	October 3, 2022
107.0.1418	Blink 107	October 27, 2022
108.0.1462	Blink 108	December 5, 2022
109.0.1518	Blink 109	January 12, 2023	Last version for Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 (without ESUs), Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 (without ESUs)
110.0.1587.41	Blink 110	February 9, 2023
111.0.1661	Blink 111	March 13, 2023
112.0.1722	Blink 112	April 6, 2023
113.0.1774	Blink 113	May 5, 2023	Improvements to downloads security Improvements to enhanced security mode Switch from Microsoft Autoupdate to EdgeUpdater for macOS New policy for PDF View Settings Updated Microsoft Root Store policy
114.0.1823	Blink 114	June 2, 2023	Added Edge Workspaces
115.0.1901	Blink 115	July 21, 2023	Added Microsoft Edge management service
116.0.1938	Blink 116	August 21, 2023	Support for Microsoft Edge for Business Added an Option to attach the Edge sidebar to the Windows desktop
117.0.2045	Blink 117	September 15, 2023	Added Microsoft Edge for Business Banner Added Autofill Autocomplete Deprecated Web Select Deprecated More Tools options such as Math Solver, Picture Dictionary, Citations, Grammar Tools, and Kids Mode
118.0.2088	Blink 118	October 13, 2023	Added Find on page New SmartScreen policy New Microsoft Edge Update policies
119.0.2151	Blink 119	November 2, 2023	Last version for Android Nougat Added Compression Dictionary Transport support Added Behavioral changes to the beforeunload event Improved Split Screen Restore Added Additional capability to manage sidebar apps Updates to Microsoft Edge enterprise sync settings page
120.0.2210	Blink 120	December 7, 2023	Added RendererAppContainer Updated the SmartActionsBlockList policy
121.0.2277	Blink 121	January 25, 2024	AVIF support

Performance

Early benchmarks of the EdgeHTML engine—included in the first beta release of Edge in Windows 10 Build 10049—had drastically better JavaScript performance due to the new Chakra than MSHTML (Trident) 7 using the older Chakra in Internet Explorer 11, with similar performance to Google Chrome 41 and Mozilla Firefox 37. In the SunSpider benchmark, Edge performed faster than other browsers, while in other benchmarks it operated slower than Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Opera.

Later benchmarks conducted with the version included in 10122 showed significant performance improvement compared to both IE11 and Edge back in 10049. According to Microsoft's benchmark result, this iteration of Edge performed better than both Chrome and Firefox in Google's Octane 2.0 and Apple's Jetstream benchmark.

Edge originally lacked support for open media standards such as WebM and Opus, but these were later added in Edge 14.14291.

In July 2015, Edge scored 377 out of 555 points on the HTML5test. Chrome 44 and Firefox 42 scored 479 and 434 respectively, while Internet Explorer 11 scored 312.

In August 2015, Microsoft released Windows 10 Build 10532 to insiders, which included Edge 21.10532.0. This beta version scored 445 out of 555 points on the HTML5test.

In July 2016, with the release of Windows 10 Build 14390 to insiders, the HTML5 test score of the browser's development version was 460 out of 555 points. Chrome 51 scored 497, Firefox 47 scored 456, and Safari 9.1 scored 370.

In June 2017, Edge 17 had scored 492/555 on HTML5test.

Power efficiency

In June 2016, Microsoft published benchmark results to prove the superior power efficiency of Edge in comparison to all other major web browsers. Opera questioned the accuracy and provided their own test results where Opera came out on top. Independent testing by PC World confirmed Microsoft's results. However, tests conducted by Linus Sebastian in June 2017 instead showed that, at that time, Chrome had the best battery performance.

Privacy

Edge sends the images that the users view online to Microsoft servers by default, although Microsoft has stated that it encrypts images before transfer.

Reception

In an August 2015 review of Windows 10 by Dan Grabham of TechRadar, Microsoft Edge was praised for its performance, despite not being in a feature-complete state at launch. Andrew Cunningham of Ars Technica praised the browser for being "tremendously promising" and "a much better browser than Internet Explorer ever was" but criticized it for its lack of functionality on launch. Thom Holwerda of OSNews criticized Edge in August 2015 for its hidden URL bar, lack of user friendliness, poor design and a tab system that is "so utterly broken it should never have shipped in a final release". He described the browser's implemented features as "some sort of cosmic joke", saying that "infuriating doesn't even begin to describe it".

Data from August 2015, a few weeks after release, showed that user uptake of Edge was low, with only 2% of overall computer users using the new browser. Among Windows 10 users, usage peaked at 20% and then dropped to 14% through August 2015.

In October 2015, a security researcher published a report outlining a bug in Edge's "InPrivate" mode, causing data related to visited sites to still be cached in the user's profile directory, theoretically making it possible for others to determine sites visited. The bug gained mainstream attention in early February 2016, and was fixed with a cumulative update on February 9, 2016.

Microsoft's switch to Blink as Edge's engine has faced mixed reception. The move increases the consistency of web platform compatibility between major browsers. For this reason, the move has attracted criticism, as it reduces diversity in the overall web browser market and increases the influence of Google on the overall browser market by Microsoft ceding its independently developed browser engine.

According to Douglas J. Leith, a computer science professor from Trinity College, Dublin, Microsoft Edge is among the least private browsers. He explained, "from a privacy perspective Microsoft Edge and Yandex are much more worrisome than the other browsers studied. Both send identifiers that are linked to the device hardware and so persist across fresh browser installs and can also be used to link different apps running on the same device. Edge sends the hardware UUID of the device to Microsoft, a strong and enduring identifier than cannot be easily changed or deleted." In response, a spokesperson from Microsoft Edge explained that it uses user diagnostic data to improve the product.

In June 2020, users criticized newly released Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10 updates that installed Edge and imported some user data from Chrome and Firefox prior to obtaining user permission. Microsoft responded by stating that if a user rejects giving Edge data import permission, then Edge will delete the imported data. However, if the browser crashes before the user has a chance to reject the import, then the already imported data will not be cleared. The Verge called these "spyware tactics" and called Edge's "first run experience" a "dark pattern".

Microsoft uses proprietary URL handlers in Windows 10 and 11 to redirect URLs accessed via system search functions to Edge, deliberately ignoring the user's choice of default browser. In November 2021, a patch was released to frustrate a workaround employed by the third-party tool "EdgeDeflector", with a Microsoft spokesperson stating that search in the Windows shell is an "end-to-end customer experience" that is not designed to be modified. The developer of EdgeDeflector, Daniel Aleksandersen, called this "clearly a user-hostile move that sees Windows compromise its own product usability in order to make it more difficult to use competing products."

In November 2021, Microsoft announced that it would display integrated advertising for the buy now, pay later service Zip Pay in Edge during online purchases eligible for financing via the service, and allow users to link their Microsoft account to expedite registration for the service. Microsoft claims that it "does not collect a fee for connecting users to loan providers." This decision was met with criticism from users and the press, arguing that the feature was added bloat.

Chrome download controversy

In December 2021, Microsoft began testing the display of in-browser prompts on the Google Chrome website to discourage downloading the browser. Similar prompts intended to discourage Google Chrome downloads also appear when searching for "Chrome" or "browser" on Microsoft Bing search engine. In February 2023, users reported seeing large banner advertisements for Microsoft Edge on the Chrome download page, a move that was criticized for deceptively altering part of Google's official website. In October 2023, Microsoft began testing the display of a sidebar containing a survey related to Chrome when the browser is downloaded.

Market share

Further information: Software:Usage share of web browsers

Desktop/laptop browser statistics
Google Chrome			65.23%
Microsoft Edge			11.9%
Safari			8.96%
Mozilla Firefox			7.62%
Opera			3.8%
Internet Explorer			0.45%
Desktop web browser market share according to StatCounter as of December 2023

According to StatCounter, in August 2019, Edge overtook the market share of Internet Explorer (IE) on PCs, ranking third place at 9.14% and IE in sixth. Mobile versions of Edge exist for Android and iOS, however, they have little to no market share. On Microsoft consoles, Edge replaced IE as the dominant browser a few months after its release in 2015. Market share varies by region. On some days of the week, Edge takes second place with a 10.02% share in the US on PC, and Firefox and Edge have a very similar share globally, switching places for second and third depending on the day. For example, in March 2020, Edge ranked second with a market share of 7.59%, overtaking Firefox, which had 7.19% of the market share.

Further reading

• Weber, Jason (January 22, 2015). "Project Spartan and the Windows 10 January Preview Build". IEBlog. Microsoft. http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/archive/2015/01/22/project-spartan-and-the-windows-10-january-preview-build.aspx. 

External links

• Official website for preview builds of Chromium-based Microsoft Edge
• Microsoft Edge Team (April 22, 2020). "Microsoft Edge and Chromium Open Source: Our Intent". https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge/MSEdge. 
• "Microsoft Edge open source projects - demos, tools, data". https://github.com/MicrosoftEdge. 
• "Incognito mode in old IE (and other browsers)" (in en, de, fr, es, it). May 25, 2018. https://www.wikihow.com/Activate-Incognito-Mode/.