By default, when a user opens a new tab in Microsoft Edge, they are greeted not just with a search bar and their frequently visited sites, but also with a sprawling “My Feed” section. This feed pulls in trending news, celebrity gossip, weather, and sponsored content from the MSN network. While some users enjoy this content discovery, in an enterprise or educational environment, this news feed is a massive distraction. It consumes bandwidth, pulls focus away from work tasks, and frequently surfaces tabloid journalism or politically charged articles that are inappropriate for the workplace.
This guide explains how to completely disable the New Tab Page News Feed system-wide in Microsoft Edge using Group Policy, ensuring users only see a clean, distraction-free search interface.
Disable the News Feed via Group Policy
To enforce a strict block that prevents the browser from loading the MSN feed and stops users from re-enabling it via the gear icon, we must deploy an administrative template. Note that this requires Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education editions.
- Log into Windows 11 with an Administrator account.
- Press the Windows Key + R to open the Run dialogue box.
- Type
gpedit.mscand press Enter to launch the Local Group Policy Editor. - In the left-hand navigation pane, navigate precisely to this path:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Microsoft Edge > Startup, home page and new tab page - In the right-hand pane, locate the policy named Configure the New Tab Page experience.
- Double-click the policy to open its configuration window.
- Select the radio button next to Enabled.
- In the “Options” pane below, click the drop-down menu and select Office 365 (if you want it to show internal corporate documents) or, for a completely blank experience, select Focused or use the separate policy Allow web content on New Tab page and set it to Disabled. However, the most direct way to kill just the news is to configure the “Configure the New Tab Page experience” to Focused.
- Click Apply, then click OK.
Verify the Distraction-Free Tab
Group Policy changes require the browser to read the registry upon its next launch. Close all active instances of Microsoft Edge.
To verify the restriction is active, reopen Microsoft Edge and open a new tab (Ctrl+T). The page will load instantly. You will see the Microsoft logo, a search bar, and (optionally) the quick links to frequently visited sites. However, scrolling down will reveal absolutely nothing; the entire MSN news feed framework has been eradicated. If a user clicks the gear icon in the top right corner of the new tab page, they will find that the “Content” drop-down menu is either locked or completely missing, cementing the distraction-free environment.