Even after closing the Edge browser, it runs in the background. Here’s a way to stop the Microsoft Edge browser from running in the background.
The new Edge browser is built on Chromium, just like Google Chrome. Like most browsers built on Chromium, the Edge browser runs silently in the background even after you fully close it. Unlike Google Chrome where you can see an icon in the taskbar when it is running in the background, the Microsoft Edge browser doesn’t show any indication that it is running in the background.
In case you are wondering, constantly running in the background lets the Edge browser deliver notifications, launch faster, and even update itself as and when the updates are available. However, as you can assume, while it is running in the background it consumes your system resources, albeit in a tiny amount.
If don’t you like this behavior or if you just want the browser to close completely when you close the main window, you have to change a couple of hidden settings. Let me show you can block the Microsoft Edge browser from running in the background in Windows.
Steps to Stop Edge Browser Running in the Background
The settings page in Microsoft Edge has an option that lets you stop it from running in the background all the time.
First, open the Microsoft Edge browser, type “edge://settings/system” in the address bar and press Enter. In the Settings page, toggle the switch next to “Continue running background apps when Microsoft Edge is closed” to OFF position.
That it. From now, the Edge browser will not run in the background. When you close the browser, it is closed completely. Keep in mind that you will not receive any notifications from your subscribed websites.
Alternative Ways
Apart from the settings page, you can also use the Group Policy Editor or Registry Editor to block the Edge browser from running the background. The below methods are useful if you have multiple users or if you are looking for a surefire alternative method.
Via Group Policy Editor
1. Open Group Policy Editor by searching for “Edit Group Policy” in the start menu. Once opened, go to the following folder on the left panel.
Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Microsoft Edge
2. On the right panel, double-click on the “Allows Microsoft Edge to pre-launch at Windows Startup, when the system is idle, and each time Edge is closed” policy appearing on the right panel.
3. Now, select the “Disabled” radio option and then select “Prevent Pre-launching” from the drop-down under the Options section. Click on the “Apply” and “Ok” buttons to save changes.
4. Finally, open Command Prompt as admin and execute gpupdate /force command. Alternatively, you can also reboot Windows to apply the policy.
That’s it.
Via Registry Editor
If you are on Windows Home edition, you need to use the Registry Editor. Before modifying, back up the registry to be safe.
1. Open Registry Editor by searching for “regedit” in the start menu. Once opened, copy the below path, paste it in the address bar and press Enter. You will be taken to the target folder.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\
2. Here, see if you have a folder named “MicrosoftEdge” under the “Microsoft” folder. If you don’t have the folder, right-click on the Microsoft folder, select “New → Key” and name the folder as “MicrosoftEdge”.
3. Select the MicrosoftEdge folder, right-click on it and select the “New → Dword Value” option. Name the value as “AllowPrelaunch”.
4. Double-click on the newly created value, type “0” in the Value Data field and click on the “Ok” button to save changes.
5. Close the registry editor and reboot Windows to make changes take effect.
That is all. It is that simple to stop the Microsoft Edge browser from running in the background in Windows.
If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible. If you like this article, do check out how to change the search engine from Bing to Goole in the Microsoft Edge browser.
