A newly discovered privacy issue on the Microsoft Edge browser is enraging users because it sends every website visited by a user on the platform to the Bing search engine, turned on by default unless a user toggles it off. This problem is now verified by software engineers and recently discovered to be true by many, citing concerns regarding their online privacy whenever accessing the internet.
While it is still unknown why Microsoft has been practicing this with the renowned browser, many are now calling out the company for its practices, despite showing no issues that it is using it for bad purposes.
Microsoft Edge Sends Data to Bing for Every Website Visited
As first discovered by a Redditor called u/hackermchalkface the Microsoft Edge browser has been sending every website visited by the user to a website called "bingapis.com," through an API. All data sent here is then fed to Bing, known to be the company's search engine which was the recently developed tech featuring artificial intelligence with GPT-4.
It was then revealed by The Verge via a software engineer that this is under the feature that "follows" creators or websites from different platforms to help users track their chosen online entities.
The reason why Edge is sending all the data or websites visited is that it is not working properly, taking more than what it should have been doing.
Microsoft also acknowledged this issue but did not explain why it was happening.
Read also: Microsoft Edge Launches AI Image Generator: Introducing the Dall-E-Enabled Image Creator Tool
How to Turn Off Microsoft Edge's Bing Data Issue
As per the Redditor, the recent Edge Version 112.0.1722.34 and later, did not revert this issue but allowed users to turn off this following process, one that helps stop the website sharing relationship it has with Bing.
To do that, users only need to go to Microsoft Edge's browser settings, choose Privacy, Search, and Services, and then Services to find "Show suggestions to follow creators in Microsoft Edge," which they may then toggle off.
Microsoft Edge and its Development
In one of the most significant developments of Microsoft, it introduced a Chromium-based browser that replaces its infamous Internet Explorer which the company debuted in 2015. It was first adopted for the Windows 10 operating system and is now its featured internet browser for all online needs, equipped with fast speeds and different features.
The Redmond-based tech company went above and beyond with Edge's development, centering on the many features that it brought for users to experience, including Smart Search, Password Monitor, and many security improvements. It also recently offered a built-in VPN from the company to experience, centering on extending more of its privacy tech for all.
Edge has been an excellent technology for users to access the internet without any problems, with its straightforward approach to a fast and secure browser, until this recent issue. The good thing is users may turn it off to ease their worries regarding the data it sends to Bing, but Microsoft remains without any explanations behind it.
