Best Microsoft Edge Settings You Should Change

If you use Microsoft Edge daily, a handful of settings can make it noticeably faster, quieter, and more private. The top pick is turning on Efficiency mode and setting it to Always—it cuts background activity, extends battery life, and reduces CPU usage without changing how pages look or behave. It’s the single change with the most visible benefit for the least effort.

What to Look For

When deciding which Edge settings to change, focus on four things: performance (how much RAM and CPU the browser uses), privacy (what data Microsoft collects and how trackers are blocked), appearance (how much of the screen is taken up by UI), and security (how the browser handles dangerous downloads and sites). A good setting should improve one of these without breaking a feature you rely on, like sync or extensions. Also consider whether the setting is global or per-profile—some options only apply to the current profile, so you may need to repeat them if you use multiple profiles.

1. Efficiency Mode (Performance & Battery)

Where: Settings > System and performance > Efficiency mode

Efficiency mode puts sleeping tabs to sleep faster and reduces background activity. Set it to Always rather than the default Balanced or When battery saver is on. This is especially useful on laptops—you’ll see longer battery life and a cooler fan. The trade-off is that some background tasks (like syncing or notifications) may be delayed, but for most users that’s a fair exchange. If you run heavy web apps like Figma or Google Docs that need constant background processing, you might want to keep it on Balanced.

Best for: Laptop users, anyone with 8GB or less RAM, and people who leave many tabs open.

2. Startup Boost (Faster Launch)

Where: Settings > System and performance > Startup boost

Startup boost lets Edge launch instantly by keeping a small background process running after you close the browser. It’s on by default in most versions, but if you’ve disabled it, turn it back on. The cost is a few extra MB of RAM when Edge is “closed.” If you never restart your computer and always keep Edge open, this setting won’t matter much. But if you close and reopen Edge frequently, it saves a couple of seconds every time.

Best for: People who open and close Edge many times a day, and those on fast SSDs (though the benefit is smaller on very fast systems).

3. Privacy: Strict Tracking Prevention

Where: Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Tracking prevention

Set tracking prevention to Strict. This blocks more trackers across sites, which reduces targeted ads and speeds up page load times. The downside: some sites may break—especially those that rely on third-party logins or embedded content. If you hit a broken site, you can add it to the Exceptions list. Strict mode also disables some personalization features, like tailored ads, which many users see as a plus.

Best for: Privacy-conscious users, people who notice slow sites full of ads, and those who don’t mind occasionally whitelisting a site.

4. Appearance: Vertical Tabs & Compact Mode

Where: Settings > Appearance > Show vertical tabs; and Settings > Appearance > Density

Vertical tabs move your tab strip to the left sidebar, which is much easier to read when you have many tabs open. Combine that with Compact density (Settings > Appearance > Density) to shrink the toolbar height and free up vertical space for content. This is a pure quality-of-life improvement. The only trade-off is that vertical tabs take up horizontal space on narrow windows—if you often use a small window, it can feel cramped. You can toggle it per window, so it’s not all-or-nothing.

Best for: People who keep 10+ tabs open, ultra-wide monitor users, and anyone who wants a cleaner reading area.

5. Security: Enhanced Safe Browsing

Where: Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Security > Enhanced safe browsing

Enhanced Safe Browsing proactively checks URLs and downloads against Microsoft’s threat intelligence in real time, and it warns you about risky extensions. It’s more effective than the default Standard mode. The trade-off is that URLs you visit are sent to Microsoft for scanning—privacy advocates may object. If you’re already using a strict tracking prevention, you might prefer to keep this on Standard to minimize data sharing. But for most users, the security benefit outweighs the privacy cost, especially if you download files often.

Best for: Less technical users, people who download from varied sources, and anyone who wants an extra layer against phishing.

6. Disable Unnecessary Extensions & Startup Impact

Where: Settings > System and performance > Startup impact; and edge://extensions

Edge’s Startup impact page (under System and performance) shows which extensions slow down your browser startup. Disable or remove extensions you don’t use—especially ones that run in the background. This isn’t a single setting, but a habit. The trade-off is losing functionality; if you use an extension daily, keep it. The benefit is a snappier browser and less RAM usage. This is often the most impactful change for older PCs.

Best for: Anyone with many extensions installed, older computers, and users who notice Edge taking 10+ seconds to open.

How to Choose

Start with the settings that address your biggest pain point. If your laptop battery drains fast, enable Efficiency mode and Startup boost. If you hate seeing targeted ads and want faster page loads, switch to Strict tracking prevention. If you feel like you’re always fighting with tabs, try vertical tabs and compact density. For security, Enhanced Safe Browsing is a no-brainer unless you’re extremely privacy-sensitive—in that case, keep Standard and rely on your own habits.

There’s no budget involved—all these settings are free. The main trade-off is between privacy and convenience (Strict tracking may break some sites) and between security and privacy (Enhanced Safe Browsing shares URLs). You can always revert any change, so experiment with one at a time. If a site breaks, add an exception or switch back to Balanced tracking. The goal is to make Edge feel like it’s working for you, not against you.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will changing these settings affect my bookmarks or passwords?

No. All the settings above only affect performance, privacy, appearance, or security. Your bookmarks, passwords, and history remain untouched.

Do I need to restart Edge after changing settings?

Most settings apply immediately. A few, like tracking prevention, may require a page refresh. If something doesn’t seem to take effect, close and reopen Edge.

Will Efficiency mode slow down video streaming?

No. Efficiency mode mainly affects background tabs and inactive processes. The active tab that’s playing video is not throttled, so streaming quality stays the same.

Does Strict tracking prevention block all ads?

No. It blocks many trackers, which often reduces the number of ads you see, but it’s not an ad blocker. To block ads, you’d need an extension like uBlock Origin.

Can I use vertical tabs on one window only?

Yes. The vertical tabs toggle is per window. You can have one window with vertical tabs and another with the classic horizontal strip.

Will Enhanced Safe Browsing slow down my internet?

It adds a tiny delay when loading a URL because it checks against a real-time list, but in practice this is imperceptible on normal connections. The security benefit outweighs the minimal latency.

Bottom Line

Start with Efficiency mode set to Always—it’s the highest-impact change for most users. Then, turn on Strict tracking prevention for privacy and speed, and enable vertical tabs with compact density for a cleaner interface. If you’re on a laptop, add Startup boost. Finally, review your extensions and remove the ones you don’t use. These six changes take about five minutes and will make Edge feel faster, lighter, and more private without sacrificing functionality.

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