Microsoft is really, really eager to kill the "Follow this creator" feature on Edge
Following complaints that it's sending details to Bing APIs.
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Key notes
- Microsoft Edge’s “Follow this creator” feature had security flaws that sent visited URLs to Bing.
- Due to privacy concerns, Microsoft is removing this feature from the browser.
- Edge’s Collections tab no longer includes the “Follow this creator” functionality in recent updates.
Microsoft Edge has a website-tracking feature called “Follow this creator.” Basically, it’s a button right on the address bar that lets you keep up with updates from your favorite content creators directly in the browser via the Collections tab.
But that feature was far from perfect. Months ago, users spotted security loopholes that allowed Edge to send every website you visit to Bing, raising significant privacy concerns. The Verge first brought that bug to our attention, and now, it seems like Microsoft is gradually removing this feature for good—from all.
Famed browser enthusiast @Leopeva64 shares on X (formerly Twitter) that Microsoft updates the description of the Collection tabs to seemingly remove all things related to the “Follow this creator” feature.
This description is still visible in Edge Stable, the most stable version of the browser that’s basically available for everyone. Here’s how it appears on the Stable channel.
This discovery aligns with what we previously reported. Microsoft, at that time, removed the Following tab from the Collections page on Edge Canary, one of the browser’s experimental channels. Instead, there’s only an option to create new collections like video/reading playlists, cookbooks, or wishlists.
Months ago, The Verge investigated that Edge has been sending URLs of almost every site visited to Bing’s API, due to a poorly implemented “follow creator” feature that’s enabled by default. In other words, it’s a pure bug rather than a deliberate attempt.
