Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesMicrosoft Edge privacy is not controlled by one universal “turn off tracking” switch. Three separate controls answer different questions: Tracking prevention limits trackers that websites can use, optional diagnostic data governs information Microsoft receives to improve Edge and related products, and browsing-activity personalization allows Microsoft to use your activity for ads, search, shopping, news and other experiences.
For most people, Balanced tracking prevention is the sensible starting point. Strict provides stronger built-in blocking but can interfere with video playback or sign-ins. Diagnostic and personalization choices are separate, so changing one does not automatically change the others. The menu names below reflect Microsoft Support documentation checked on October 13, 2026; Edge and Windows can move these controls in later updates.
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What each Edge privacy control actually changes
Microsoft Edge is designed to detect and block known trackers. A tracker can record interactions with a website, and some trackers follow activity across different sites. Tracking prevention is therefore a browser-level compatibility and tracking-control feature, not a promise of anonymity.
Diagnostics and personalization operate on different data flows. Optional diagnostics concern information Microsoft says it may receive to improve products. Personalization concerns whether Microsoft can use your Edge browsing activity to tailor Microsoft experiences. A setting in one category does not substitute for a setting in another.
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- Compatible Model(s): Magicmoon brand filter only for 24 inch -diagonally measured - widescreen monitor - aspect ratio 16:9 - filter size: width: 20 15/16", Height: 11 13/16" (531mm x 298mm)
- Superior Privacy: The computer privacy filter makes the screen appear dark when looking at it from an angle (the angle is about 30 to 60 degree), but bright when looking directly at it. To change the privacy level - simply adjust your monitor’s brightness accordingly
- Eye and Screen Protection: Privacy Filter does not only protect your private life but also protects your eyes by blocking 30% of blue light , blocking the harmful blue light between 380 to 495 nm, it filters out the blue light and relieves eye strain
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- Includes Two Options: Option 1 uses clear adhesive strips that securely attach to any computer screen. Option 2 (for computer screens with a raised bezel only) uses slide mount tabs that easily stick to the display frame, allowing you to slide the privacy screen filter on and off as needed
| Control | Main question it answers | What changing it does not do |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking prevention | Which website trackers should Edge block? | It does not make you anonymous or guarantee that every tracking method is blocked. |
| Optional diagnostic data | Should Microsoft receive additional usage, performance and website-related information to improve products? | It does not determine which trackers a website can load. |
| Browsing-activity personalization | May Microsoft use Edge activity to personalize ads, search, shopping, news and other services? | It does not delete the local browsing history stored on your device. |
Microsoft’s descriptions are explanations of its own controls and purposes, not an independent audit of telemetry or advertising systems.
Tracking prevention: Basic, Balanced or Strict?
Open Settings and more > Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Tracking prevention. Edge offers three levels. Microsoft identifies Balanced as the recommended setting and describes it as the default in its overview.
| Level | Microsoft’s description | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | Blocks potentially harmful trackers but allows most other trackers, including trackers used to personalize content and ads. | This is the least restrictive choice. It is useful when compatibility is more important than reducing cross-site tracking. |
| Balanced | Blocks potentially harmful trackers and trackers from sites you have not visited. | It is the middle ground Microsoft recommends, reducing many cross-site trackers while preserving more site functionality than Strict. |
| Strict | Blocks potentially harmful trackers and most trackers across sites. Content and ads receive minimal personalization. | The strongest built-in blocking level, with a greater chance that a site will fail to play video, accept a sign-in or otherwise work correctly. |
Choosing a level
- Choose Balanced if you want a practical default for everyday browsing and do not want to troubleshoot many broken sites.
- Try Strict if minimizing cross-site tracking is your priority and you are willing to adjust individual sites when necessary.
- Use Basic when a site or work system repeatedly fails under stronger protection and you need the broadest compatibility.
Changing the level affects Edge’s tracker-blocking behavior; it does not revoke Microsoft’s separate permissions for diagnostics or personalization.
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Handling a site that breaks
If a trusted site cannot play a video, complete a sign-in or load an essential feature under Strict (or occasionally Balanced), first test whether lowering the level resolves the problem. If you want to keep stronger protection elsewhere, add an exception for that site from the tracking-prevention settings.
Rank #2
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Microsoft’s exception is broad: adding a tracking-prevention exception allows all trackers on that site, including potentially harmful ones. It is a compatibility workaround, not a narrow list of approved harmless trackers. Remove the exception when you no longer need it, or use a separate browser profile for a site that requires unusually permissive behavior.
Inspecting what Edge blocked
Edge exposes blocked trackers through the site-information control at the left side of the address bar. Open that control while viewing a page to see the available tracking information and investigate whether a blocked resource explains a malfunction. The panel is useful for diagnosis, but a blank or incomplete list should not be treated as proof that a page contains no tracking.
Optional diagnostic data: what Microsoft says Edge may send
Optional diagnostics are not the same as website tracker blocking. Microsoft says optional diagnostic data can include feature usage, performance data, site-load times, memory usage and websites visited. Its description also lists website-related fields such as a URL, metrics, page title, how the page was accessed, content information and navigation information. These are examples rather than an exhaustive schema.
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Rank #3
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Windows 11
- Open Start > Settings.
- Select Privacy & security.
- Open Diagnostics & feedback.
- Review the controls for optional diagnostic data and choose the level that matches your preference.
Windows 10
- Open Start > Settings.
- Select Privacy.
- Open Diagnostics & feedback.
- Review the optional-diagnostics control and change it if desired.
On Windows, Microsoft documents this choice as a Windows setting rather than a universal Edge-only switch. Device management policies or an organisation’s configuration can also restrict what you are allowed to change.
Other platforms
On platforms other than Windows, use Edge Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Privacy, then change Send optional diagnostic data to improve Microsoft products. Other applications that use the Edge web platform may send optional diagnostics under their own relevant settings, so changing Edge’s browser setting does not necessarily govern every application built on that platform.
Browsing-activity personalization and the data involved
Microsoft says that, when you give permission, Edge browsing activity can be used to personalize advertising and experiences across Edge, Bing, Microsoft News and other Microsoft services. Examples Microsoft lists include browsing history, favorites and collections, browser usage, viewed web content and device or version data.
The possible uses are broad: personalized ads, search results, shopping recommendations, news-feed content and other Microsoft web experiences. This is a permission-based use of browsing activity, not the same mechanism as a third-party tracker being blocked on a page.
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- Left and Right Privacy: Not block visibility directly behind you, regardless of distance. The privacy filter makes the screen appear dark when looking at it from an angle (left and right 30 to 180 degree), but clear when looking directly at it. To change the privacy levels, simply adjust your monitor's brightness level accordingly
- Matte and Glossy Sides: It's a reversible privacy screen filter, giving you the flexibility to choose glossy or matte finish. The matte side will have less glare, however the glossy side will have stronger privacy
- Perfect for Open Workspaces: Ensure your working space is bright and well lit. Privacy screens do not work in dimly lit areas
- Two Installation Option: Option 1 uses clear double side adhesive strips that securely attach to any computer screen. Option 2 (for computer screens with a raised bezel only) uses slide mount tabs that easily stick to the display frame, allowing you to take out the privacy screen filter easily as needed
Microsoft says activity from InPrivate and Guest browsing is not collected for this personalization. It also says Collections notes are not used to personalize advertisements. Those statements apply to the personalization context described by Microsoft; they do not mean that InPrivate makes every online action invisible to websites, networks or other services.
Turn off Edge browsing-activity personalization
- Open Settings and more > Settings.
- Select Privacy, search, and services.
- Open the Privacy section.
- Turn off the setting that allows Microsoft to save browsing activity—including history, usage, favorites, web content and other browsing data—to personalize Edge and Microsoft services such as ads, search, shopping and news.
Microsoft says collection and use for that personalization stops from the point at which you stop sharing the activity. The change does not retroactively erase copies that may already exist in Microsoft services or on your device.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Personalized ads and personalized search are separate choices
The Microsoft privacy dashboard contains a separate control named See ads that interest you. Turning that control off prevents the described data, including browsing history, from being used for personalized advertising.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →That dashboard advertising control does not by itself stop browsing activity from being used to personalize search results, news-feed content or other Microsoft web experiences. To address those uses, change the Edge browsing-activity setting described in the previous section as well. Conversely, turning off Edge activity sharing does not replace the dashboard’s advertising control if you want to review or change ad-personalization choices there.
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Cloud dashboard history versus local history
Deleting browsing history in Microsoft’s privacy dashboard does not automatically delete the local history stored by Edge on your device. To inspect the local copy, enter edge://history/all in the address bar. Clear local history separately through Edge’s browsing-data controls if that is your goal.
Practical configurations for common goals
| Your priority | Tracking prevention choice | Other action |
|---|---|---|
| Everyday browsing with fewer compatibility surprises | Balanced | Leave exceptions empty unless a trusted site genuinely fails. |
| Maximum built-in tracker blocking | Strict | Expect to troubleshoot sign-ins or media and use exceptions sparingly because they allow all trackers on an excepted site. |
| Compatibility for a site that will not work | Temporarily lower the level or add a site exception | Undo the change after the task; an exception is broader than allowing one specific tracker. |
| Reduce optional data sent for product improvement | Any level; tracking prevention is unrelated | Change optional diagnostics in Windows Diagnostics & feedback or Edge’s Privacy setting on other platforms. |
| Stop personalized advertising | Any level | Turn off See ads that interest you in the Microsoft privacy dashboard. |
| Stop browsing activity being used for Microsoft search, news and similar experiences | Any level | Turn off Edge’s browsing-activity personalization setting; the ad-dashboard control alone is insufficient. |
Troubleshooting and limits to keep in mind
A site still breaks after changing Strict
Check whether the problem is a blocked tracker by opening the site-information control in the address bar. If the site is trusted, test a temporary exception or Balanced mode. Remember that the exception permits every tracker on that site, including potentially harmful ones, so do not treat it as a harmless allow-list.
You cannot find the documented menu
Edge and Windows update their interfaces. Search Settings for “tracking prevention,” “diagnostic data” or “privacy,” and confirm whether the device is managed by an organisation. On Windows, diagnostic-data controls are documented in the operating system; on other platforms, look in Edge’s Privacy section.
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You turned off ads but still see personalized search or news
That result is consistent with Microsoft’s distinction between the dashboard’s ad control and Edge’s broader browsing-activity permission. Turn off the Edge activity setting as well if you do not want that activity used for search, news, shopping or other Microsoft web experiences.
You deleted dashboard history but local history remains
Use edge://history/all to view the local browser copy and clear it separately. Cloud-dashboard deletion and local-device deletion are different operations.
A short privacy check before you finish
- Set Tracking prevention to Balanced or Strict according to your tolerance for site breakage.
- Review exceptions and remove any that are no longer needed.
- Set optional diagnostics in the correct place for your platform.
- Decide separately whether Microsoft may save Edge browsing activity for personalization.
- Review the privacy dashboard’s See ads that interest you control if personalized advertising is the concern.
- Clear local history separately from dashboard history when you need local deletion.
These controls work best when treated as separate decisions: tracker blocking for website compatibility, diagnostics for optional product-improvement data, and personalization permissions for Microsoft’s use of browsing activity. None of them is a universal anonymity switch.
Quick Recap
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