To make web browsing feel instantaneously fast, Microsoft Edge employs an aggressive algorithm called “Page Prediction” or preloading. As you move your mouse over a link, or as you start typing a URL into the address bar, Edge attempts to guess which page you are going to visit next. Before you even click the link or press Enter, Edge silently downloads the entire destination webpage in the background so it can render it instantly the moment you actually click.
While this makes the browser feel incredibly snappy, it comes at a massive cost to your bandwidth and privacy. If you are on a metered cellular connection, Edge is wasting gigabytes of data downloading web pages you never actually visit. Furthermore, because Edge is requesting data from these servers before you click, those servers are tracking your IP address and setting cookies on your machine without your explicit consent.
You can dive into Edge’s Privacy and Services settings to completely disable the predictive preloading engine, ensuring the browser only downloads data when you explicitly click a link.
How to Turn Off Page Prediction in Edge
You must disable the network preloading feature to save bandwidth and protect your privacy.
- Open the Microsoft Edge browser.
- Click the three horizontal dots in the top-right corner.
- Select Settings from the drop-down menu.
- In the left-hand navigation sidebar, click on Cookies and site permissions.
- Scroll down to the “Manage and delete cookies and site data” section.
- Locate the toggle labeled Preload pages for faster browsing and searching.
- Turn this toggle to the Off position.
Microsoft Edge will immediately stop guessing your next move. It will only ever contact a web server or download an image when you actually click a hyperlink or press Enter in the address bar, giving you total control over your network traffic.