Microsoft Edge 120 Telemetry records your third-party searches now

Microsoft Edge 120 is the latest version of Microsoft’s web browser. Released this week, it is mostly a security update that addresses issues in Chromium and Edge itself.

What Microsoft doesn’t reveal in the release notes is that Edge 120 comes with a new Telemetry module. While it lists it under new policies, it does not provide information about it on the page.

Problem is: this new Telemetry component is enabled by default on Windows devices. It records third-party searches that users make when using Edge. Third-party searches are searches done using any search engine except Microsoft Bing.

Edge collects search data

The new policy, called Edge3PSerpTelemetryEnabled, is enabled by Microsoft. Microsoft describes it in the following way:

Edge3P Telemetry in Microsoft Edge captures the searches user does on third party search providers without identifying the person or the device and captures only if the user has consented to this collection of data. User can turn off the collection at any time in the browser settings.

In other words: Edge collects third-party search data on Windows. Microsoft notes that it only captures data if the user has given consent. However, Microsoft notes as well that the feature is enabled if the policy is enabled or not configured.

It is unclear what type of consent users have to give before the search data is collected.

How to stop Edge from sending search data to Microsoft

Microsoft Edge users have up to three options to deal with the collection of search data in Edge:

• Disable the Telemetry collecting in Edge itself.
• Configure a specific Edge policy using the Group Policy Editor.
• Make the same change in the Windows Registry.

Disable Telemetry in Edge

Here is how that is done:

1. Open Microsoft Edge.
2. Load edge://settings/privacy in the browser’s address bar.
3. Scroll down until you come to the Search and service improvement section.
4. Toggle “Help improve Microsoft products by sending the results from searches on the web”.

While you are at it, check other settings on the page, e.g. under personalization & advertising, optional diagnostic data or security.

Group Policy and Registry

You need to download and install the Microsoft Edge administrative template before you can configure policies using the Group Policy Editor. You find the latest policy template download and instructions here.

Note also that the Group Policy Editor is not available in Windows Home editions.

1. Open the Group Policy Editor. You may do so with a tap on Start, typing gpedit.msc and pressing Enter on the keyboard.
2. Go to Administrative Templates > Microsoft Edge.
3. Find “Edge 3P SERP Telemetry Enabled”.
4. Double-click on the policy.
5. Change its state to Disabled.
6. Close the Group Policy Editor.
7. Restart the Windows device.

Here is how you make the change using the Registry:

1. Open Start, type regedit.exe and press Enter.
2. Confirm the UAC prompt.
3. Go to
4. HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\Recommended.
5. If a key does not exist, right-click on the previous one and select New > Key. Name it accordingly.
6. Right-click on Recommended and select New > Dword (32-bit) Value.
7. Name it Edge3PSerpTelemetryEnabled.
8. Double-click on the new value and set it to 0 (if it is not 0 already).
9. Restart the PC.

Thanks Günter for the tip!