How to Completely Disable ‘Read Aloud’ (Text to Speech) in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge includes a highly capable accessibility feature called “Read Aloud.” Built directly into the browser, it uses cloud-based neural text-to-speech engines to narrate the contents of almost any web page or PDF document. While this is a fantastic tool for visually impaired users or those who prefer to listen to long-form articles, it can be an annoyance for others. If you frequently trigger the feature by accident via its keyboard shortcut (Ctrl+Shift+U) or by misclicking in the right-click context menu, you may find the sudden robotic voice blaring from your speakers disruptive.

This guide explains how to completely disable the Read Aloud functionality in Microsoft Edge, preventing it from activating either via the context menu or accidental keyboard shortcuts.

Disable Read Aloud via Registry Editor (Windows)

Microsoft does not provide a simple on/off toggle for Read Aloud in the standard Edge settings menu. To permanently disable it system-wide, you must use a Group Policy or a direct Registry Edit. This method applies to Windows 10 and Windows 11.

1. Press the Windows Key + R to open the Run dialogue box.
2. Type regedit and press Enter. Click Yes if prompted by User Account Control.
3. In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following path:

   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft

4. Right-click on the Microsoft folder, select New > Key, and name the new key Edge. (If the Edge key already exists, simply click on it).
5. With the Edge key selected, right-click in the empty space on the right-hand pane and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
6. Name the new DWORD exactly ReadAloudEnabled.
7. Double-click on ReadAloudEnabled and ensure the Value data is set to 0 (zero).
8. Click OK and close the Registry Editor.

Verify the Changes

For the policy change to take effect, you must completely restart Microsoft Edge. Ensure you close all active windows and terminate any background Edge processes running in the system tray.

Upon relaunching the browser, navigate to a text-heavy website. Right-click on a paragraph of text. You will notice that the “Read aloud” option has either been entirely removed from the context menu or is now greyed out and unclickable. Furthermore, pressing Ctrl+Shift+U will no longer trigger the narration engine, ensuring a silent and uninterrupted browsing experience.