When you launch a new InPrivate window in Microsoft Edge, the browser is supposed to create a secure, isolated sandbox. It stops recording your browsing history, blocks third-party trackers, and isolates your cookies. However, many users do not realize that some of their browser extensions may still be actively running in the background while they are browsing privately.
This completely defeats the purpose of an InPrivate session. If you have an aggressive coupon-hunting extension, a third-party password manager, or a sketchy grammar checker running, those extensions can still see every webpage you visit and every keystroke you make, effectively logging the very activity you were trying to keep private.
You can rigorously audit your Microsoft Edge extensions and explicitly revoke their permission to run automatically inside secure InPrivate windows.
How to Block Extensions in InPrivate Mode
You must review your extension permissions one by one.
- Open the Microsoft Edge browser.
- Click the Extensions icon (it looks like a puzzle piece) in the toolbar, right next to the address bar.
- Click on Manage extensions at the bottom of the drop-down menu.
- You will see a list of all your installed extensions. For the first extension on your list, click the Details button.
- Scroll down the details page until you find a checkbox labeled Allow in InPrivate.
- Uncheck this box to revoke the permission.
- Click the back arrow and repeat this process for every single extension installed on your browser.
Note: If you have a trusted Password Manager extension, you may actually want to leave that specific one enabled, but everything else should be blocked.
By enforcing a strict firewall against your own extensions, your InPrivate browsing sessions will become significantly more secure, ensuring third-party software cannot silently track your private activity.