Downloadsbloat 3

Microsoft Edge

Microsoft's Chromium-based browser with Copilot, vertical tabs and Windows integration

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Bloat

3 · HEAVY

Comes with Windows and pushes itself, its shopping tools, news feed and AI assistant; much can be switched off, not all.

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About

Edge is Microsoft's web browser, rebuilt in 2020 on the open-source Chromium engine that also powers Chrome, so nearly all sites and most Chrome Web Store extensions work with it. It ships with Windows 10 and 11, and Microsoft also publishes versions for macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. Signing in with a Microsoft account syncs favourites, passwords and history across devices. Edge adds its own tools on top of Chromium: vertical tabs, sleeping tabs that free memory from idle pages, Immersive Reader with read-aloud, a PDF viewer that can annotate documents, and the Copilot AI assistant in the sidebar. Businesses can use Internet Explorer mode to open old intranet sites that still depend on it. Edge is a practical choice for people who rely on Microsoft 365 or want a Chromium browser with more features built in.

Copilot AI assistant in the sidebar
Vertical tabs and sleeping tabs to save memory
Immersive Reader with read-aloud
Internet Explorer mode for legacy business sites
Installs extensions from Microsoft's store and the Chrome Web Store

Before you download

Already included with Windows 10 and 11, so most Windows users do not need to download it.

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