Turn on Microsoft Edge’s tracking prevention, set it to Balanced or Strict, then add Privacy Badger for extra pressure on sneaky third-party trackers. Edge already blocks many known trackers, and Microsoft says its tracking prevention has three modes: Basic, Balanced, and Strict [source: Microsoft]. Privacy Badger fills a different role. It watches for tracking behavior as you browse and blocks domains that keep following you around.
TLDR: Use Edge’s Balanced mode for daily browsing, and switch to Strict if you want stronger blocking and can tolerate a few broken buttons. Add Privacy Badger to catch trackers that behave badly across multiple sites. For example, if you visit 20 shopping, news, and travel sites in a week, the same ad network may try to appear on many of them to build a profile. This setup can cut a lot of that cross-site tracking without making your browser painful to use.
Why Edge settings alone are not always enough
Edge has solid privacy controls, but browsers have to balance privacy with convenience. That means some tracking may still slip through, especially when scripts hide inside ads, widgets, videos, and “share” buttons. Honestly, it feels like every recipe page has 12 things loading before the actual recipe appears.
Cross-site tracking is simple in idea. A company places code on many websites. When you visit those sites, that company can recognize your browser and connect your activity. You looked at running shoes. Then you checked a weather site. Then you read a product review. Suddenly, shoe ads chase you for days.
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Step 1: Set Edge tracking prevention
Open Edge and go to Settings, then Privacy, search, and services. At the top, make sure Tracking prevention is turned on.
You will see three options:
- Basic: Blocks the least. Sites usually work well, but tracking protection is weak.
- Balanced: Best for most people. It blocks trackers from sites you have not visited and keeps pages usable.
- Strict: Blocks more trackers. Some sites may break, especially login pages, comment boxes, and embedded video players.
For most users, Balanced is the sweet spot. It cuts common tracking without making every website feel like a repair project. If you are privacy-focused, try Strict for a week. If a bank page, school portal, or work dashboard acts weird, add that site as an exception.
Step 2: Clear old tracking data
Changing settings helps from now on, but old cookies can still sit in the browser. In Edge, go to Settings, then Privacy, search, and services. Find Clear browsing data and choose Choose what to clear.
Select these items:
- Cookies and other site data
- Cached images and files
- Browsing history, if you want a cleaner reset
Expect to waste a minute signing back into some sites. Annoying? Yes. Worth it? Usually. Old cookies are one of the easiest ways for sites to remember you.
Step 3: Install Privacy Badger
Privacy Badger is made by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Unlike many blockers, it does not only rely on fixed blocklists. It looks for third-party domains that appear to track you across sites, then blocks or limits them [source: EFF].
To install it in Edge, open the Microsoft Edge Add-ons store and search for Privacy Badger. Install the extension, then pin it to the toolbar so you can see what it is doing.
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Once installed, browse as normal. Click the Privacy Badger icon on a site. You may see sliders next to third-party domains:
- Green: Allowed, usually because it has not acted like a tracker.
- Yellow: Partly blocked. Cookies may be blocked, but useful parts may still load.
- Red: Blocked because it appears to track you across sites.
Most people should leave these sliders alone. Privacy Badger learns over time. If a page breaks, click the icon and move a blocked domain from red to yellow or green. Reload the page and check again.
Step 4: Tighten cookies and permissions
Edge also lets you reduce tracking by limiting cookies and site permissions. In Settings, open Cookies and site permissions. Turn on Block third-party cookies if you can handle the occasional broken login or checkout page.
Next, review permissions for:
- Location
- Camera
- Microphone
- Notifications
Set most of these to Ask before accessing. Also remove sites you no longer trust. Notification permissions are especially messy. One careless click can turn a normal website into a pop-up machine.
Step 5: Use InPrivate for sensitive sessions
InPrivate browsing does not make you invisible. Your internet provider, employer, school, or the site itself may still see activity. But it does reduce local leftovers. Cookies from that session vanish when you close the InPrivate window.
Use it for gift shopping, medical research, travel price checks, or logging into a second account. Pair it with Edge tracking prevention and Privacy Badger for a cleaner session.
A practical setup that works
Here is a simple privacy setup for normal people who do not want to fight their browser all day:
- Set Edge tracking prevention to Balanced.
- Install Privacy Badger and let it learn.
- Clear cookies once a month.
- Block third-party cookies if your usual sites still work.
- Use Strict mode or InPrivate for sensitive browsing.
No tool blocks every tracker. Still, this combo removes a lot of the easy tracking that follows people from site to site. It is simple, free, and takes about five minutes to set up. Best of all, you do not need to become a security expert to get better privacy.
