How to Prevent Microsoft Edge from Running in the Background

Learn how to prevent the Microsoft Edge browser from always running in the background even after you close it.

When you close the Edge browser by clicking the “X” icon on the title bar, you’d expect it to close completely and not run until you open it again. However, like any other Chromium-based browser, Microsoft Edge runs silently in the background even after you close it. This allows it to launch faster when it is opened the next time, display real-time notifications, and run updates in the background. While this is a good thing, having the Edge browser running constantly will consume system resources, and on laptops, it may reduce the battery backup time.

Thankfully, on both Windows 11 and Windows 10, you have three ways to stop the Edge browser from running in the background after you close it. In this quick and straightforward guide, I will show you how to do it. Let’s get started.

Before You Start

• Administrator rights are required to follow the Group Policy and Registry Editor methods.

Steps to Stop Edge Browser Running in the Background

1. Open the Edge browser.
2. Click the “Menu” (three horizontal dots) icon on the top-right corner.
3. Select the “Settings” option.
4. Go to the “System and Performance” tab on the left sidebar.
5. Click the “System” option.
6. Turn OFF the “Startup boost” toggle.
7. Turn OFF the “Continue running background extensions and apps when Edge is closed” toggle.
8. With that, you’ve stopped Edge from running in the background.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

If it is not already, open the Edge browser. You can do that by searching for “Microsoft Edge” in the Start menu (press “Windows” key). Once it opens, click the “Menu” icon (three horizontal dots) and select the “Settings” option. This opens the “Settings” tab.

Go to the “System and Performance” tab on the sidebar and then click the “System” option.

Next, turn OFF the “Startup boost” and “Continue running background extensions and apps when Edge is closed” toggles.

That’s it. From now on, Microsoft Edge will not run in the background after you close it.

Use Group Policy Editor to Prevent Edge from Running in the Background

If you are managing multiple users on the same computer, rather than configuring the settings manually for each user, you can use the Group Policy Editor to prevent Microsoft Edge from always running in the background. Here’s how.

1. Search for “Edit Group Policy” in the Start menu and open it.
2. Go to the “Computer Configuration” > “Administrative Templates” folder.
3. Go to the “Windows Components” > “Microsoft Edge” folder.
4. Double-click the “Allow Microsoft Edge to pre-launch at Windows Startup, when the system is idle, and each time Edge is closed” policy.
5. Select the “Enabled” option.
6. Select “Prevent Pre-launching” from the dropdown menu under “Options”.
7. Click “OK“.
8. Close the Group Policy Editor.
9. Restart your computer.
10. With that, Edge will not run in the background after you close it.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, open the Start menu by clicking the “Windows” key. Next, search for “Edit Group Policy” and click the “Open” option to open the Group Policy Editor. Next, go to the following folder.

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Microsoft Edge

On the right panel, double-click on the “Allow Microsoft Edge to pre-launch at Windows Startup, when the system is idle, and each time Edge is closed” policy. This is the policy that allows you to control the background behavior of the Edge browser.

Now, select the “Enabled” option and then select the “Prevent Pre-launching” option from the drop-down under the “Options” section.

Click the “OK” button to save the change.

Finally, close the Group Policy Editor and restart your system to apply the changes. After restarting, the Edge browser will not run in the background once you close it.

Use Registry Editor to Prevent Edge from Running in the Background

Note: Before proceeding, please back up the registry before proceeding.

1. Press the “Windows key + R” to open the Run dialog.
2. Type “regedit” and click “OK“.
3. Go to the “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft” folder.
4. Right-click the “Microsoft” folder.
5. Select “New” and then “Key“.
6. Set “MicrosoftEdge” as the folder name.
7. Right-click the “MicrosoftEdge” folder.
8. Select “New” and then “DWORD (32-bit) Value“.
9. Set “AllowPrelaunch” as the value name.
10. Double-click the newly created value.
11. Ensure the “Value Data” field is set to “0“.
12. Click the “OK” button.
13. Close the Registry Editor.
14. Restart your computer.
15. With that, Edge will not run in the background after you close it.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, open the Run dialog box by pressing the “Windows key + R” shortcut. Next, type “regedit” in the run dialog and click “OK“. This opens the Registry Editor. In it, go to the following folder.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\

Once you are here, right-click the “Microsoft” folder and select “New” > “Key” to create a new folder. Name it “MicrosoftEdge“.

Next, right-click the “MicrosoftEdge” folder, select “New” and then “DWORD (32-bit) Value“. Name the new value “AllowPrelaunch“.

Double-click on the newly created value, type “0” in the “Value Data” field, and click “OK” to save the change.

Finally, close the Registry Editor and restart Windows to make the changes take effect. That is all. It is that simple to stop the Microsoft Edge browser from running in the background in Windows.

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If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.

Good to read: How to change the search engine from Bing to Google in the Microsoft Edge browser.