Making search private on Edge takes under a minute. The default engine on Microsoft Edge was chosen for you, often because someone paid for the spot. Here is how to replace it with one that does not track you.

Step by step on Microsoft Edge

  1. Open Settings, then Privacy, search, and services.
  2. Scroll to Address bar and search.
  3. Open Manage search engines and add your private engine by its search URL.
  4. Set it as the default.
good to know
Edge shares the Windows search box, so this also affects searches you start from the taskbar.

What to set it to

For the switch to actually mean something, point the default at an engine that keeps no account and stores no history. Bare is built for exactly this: your query passes through our server only to fetch results, so the index sees our network rather than your address, and nothing is kept once the page loads. Set it once, and every search from Microsoft Edge on your Edge is private by default.

If you change your mind

There is no risk. Microsoft Edge lets you switch back through the same menu in seconds, and nothing about your bookmarks or history is affected. Try a private default for a week, most people never switch back.