Microsoft is revealing several new features coming to its new Edge browser based on the Google’s Chromium project. These new set of features includes a new IE Mode to bring compatibility for old websites, privacy controls to stop websites and companies from tracking you, and Collections to allow users to easily collect text, image, videos, and other information.
Internet Explorer mode
Perhaps one of the biggest features coming to the browser is the new IE Mode, which is a feature that uses the old Internet Explorer rendering engine to bring compatibility of IE-based sites into the Chromium browser.
The new feature is designed for organizations to load internal sites. Currently, on Windows 10, Microsoft Edge will open Internet Explorer 11 to show an old website, and this introduces a separate interface, settings, and favorites. The new approach loads the pages within Microsoft Edge just like a normal website without the need to use and manage multiple browsers.
Alongside the new IE Mode, Microsoft is also revealing that organizations will get new settings to customize the New Tab page in Edge Chromium. Some of the options include the ability to set the frequent site list, custom company logo, and integration with Office 365 and Microsoft Search.
Tracking protection privacy settings
In this new version of Microsoft Edge, the company is also focusing on improving privacy to block web trackers from collecting data from the end-user.
Starting with the Chromium version of Edge, you’ll find a new “Privacy and security” settings page to choose among three different levels of privacy, including unrestricted, balanced, and strict.
While all the levels offer features to block malicious trackers, the level of advertisement tracking will be different depending on privacy level that you select.
Using the unrestricted level allows advertisers to track your activities without restrictions. The balanced level (default) will block web trackers on websites that you’re visiting for the first time, which can result in fewer ads from being displayed. Then there’s the strict level that blocks all trackers, meaning that you’ll still be able to see ads, but they won’t track you. However, note that using this mode will break some websites.
According to the company, the strict option will even be available when using Microsoft Edge in incognito mode.
Collections
In addition, Microsoft is also planning to bring Collections to the Edge Chromium, which is a new feature designed to allow you to easily collect text, images, videos, and other content into a note page.
When using Collections, a new flyout will appear from right side, where you can drag and drop content from the web. It’ll format the content correctly, and it’ll even add footnote with link references of the sources that you used.
Once you finish collecting the information, you’ll be able to share the content with anyone using email or export it into any of the Office apps, including Word and Excel, which makes it a great tool to create school projects and compare features and prices when planning to purchase a product.
Although Microsoft isn’t sharing when these new features will be available, the company reveals that it’s already working on them.
