In an effort to make web browsing feel instantaneous, Microsoft Edge utilizes a feature called “page preloading” (or pre-fetching). When you visit a website, Edge tries to predict which link you are going to click next. Before you even move your mouse, the browser begins silently downloading the text, images, and scripts of that predicted page in the background.
While this absolutely makes the internet feel faster, it comes at a significant cost. Preloading pages consumes massive amounts of RAM, drains laptop batteries faster, and chews through your internet data cap by downloading gigabytes of websites that you never actually end up looking at. If you are on a metered connection or using a low-end PC, you should turn this feature off.
How to Stop Edge from Preloading Pages
You can disable the pre-fetch engine directly from the browser’s privacy settings.
- Open Microsoft Edge.
- Click the three horizontal dots (Settings and more) in the top-right corner of the window.
- Select Settings from the drop-down menu.
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on Cookies and site permissions.
- Scroll down to the “All permissions” section and click on Manage and delete cookies and site data.
- Look for the toggle switch labeled Preload pages for faster browsing and searching.
- Click the toggle to turn it to the Off position.
What Are the Consequences?
The moment you disable this setting, Microsoft Edge will immediately stop guessing your browsing habits. Your CPU and RAM usage will drop because the browser is no longer rendering hidden tabs in the background. The only trade-off is that when you finally do click a link, you will have to wait the normal half-second for the new page to load, rather than it appearing instantly.