Microsoft Edge for Business (Private Preview)

This article describes the benefits Microsoft Edge for Business brings to your users and how to enable this experience for your organization.

Introduction

Microsoft Edge for Business is a new, dedicated Microsoft Edge experience built for work that enables admins in organizations to give their users a productive and secure work browser across managed and unmanaged devices. It has the same rich set of enterprise controls, security, and productivity features that you're already familiar with in Microsoft Edge, but it's built to help meet the evolving needs of businesses.

Microsoft Edge for Business aims to address the needs of both end users and IT Pros as the browser that automatically separates work and personal browsing into dedicated browser windows with their own favorites, separate caches and storage locations. This separation ensures that work related content doesn't get intermingled with personal browsing, preventing cognitive overload or end users from accidentally sharing sensitive information with unintended audiences. Microsoft Edge for Business is going to be the standard browser experience for organizations, activated by an Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) login, upon general availability. Check out our build announcement.

Microsoft Edge for Business is available in private preview on managed PCs, and unmanaged BYOPC.

Microsoft Edge for Business encompasses the experiences summarized in the following table. You can enable and try the preview by following the instructions in Enable Microsoft Edge for Business preview.

Work Browser (Visual Refresh)

When Microsoft Edge for Business is available, the existing Azure AD profile on Enterprise PCs will automatically apply the new refreshed visual treatment. The existing Microsoft Edge icon is replaced by the Microsoft Edge for Business logo in the taskbar and other shortcuts:

Inside the browser you see the new profile pill label, profile flyout visual treatment, and flyout band annotation.

Automatic switching with the Enterprise personal browser

The Enterprise personal browser is designed to keep work and personal browsing separate for the end users via the new Automatic Switching mechanism. When the device has an existing MSA profile or creates a new one, it enables automatic switching to enforce the browsing context separation. We continue to update our automatic switching logic to support more sites.

Another thing to note, when Microsoft Edge for Business is available, the personal browser profile is lightly managed, without requiring additional configuration. The personal browser profile will automatically inherit only the following policy categories:

• Security Policies (e.g., Application Guard, Enhanced Security Mode, and others)
• Data Compliance Policies (e.g., Microsoft Purview DLP, Microsoft Insider Risk Management)
• Microsoft Edge Update Policies (e.g., Enforcing Edge Update Rules)

We'll share the full list of policies that apply to the personal browser profile, stay tuned for that update.

Company Branding

Another Microsoft Edge for Business feature that will be coming soon is support for Company Branding. The first version of this feature will automatically apply branding assets available in the company's tenant, for example, Name, Logo and Color.

As we continue to develop this, we plan to enable more admin customization where new assets can be provided for Microsoft Edge for Business.

Enable Microsoft Edge for Business preview

Microsoft Edge for Business is available in private preview on managed devices on Microsoft Edge version 115 or later.

Microsoft Edge for Business is enabled by logging into the browser using your Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) account. This login ensures that all your Microsoft 365 services are accessible in your work browser window.

To enable preview on a device, enter the following URLs in the Microsoft Edge address bar and set each flag to "Enabled".

• edge://flags/#edge-project-kodiak
• edge://flags/#edge-project-kodiak-look-and-feel
• edge://flags/#edge-project-kodiak-policy-filter
• edge://flags/#edge-automatic-profile-switching
• edge://flags/#edge-automatic-guided-switch

The private preview includes some visual treatments for the work browser window, a lightly managed personal browser window, and automatic switching between work and personal browser windows for a growing number of websites.

How to enable using experimental policy

1. Download the Microsoft Edge for Business EXPERIMENTAL Policy File. This file will be deprecated with Microsoft Edge version 116.
2. Install the policies using one of these methods: Add the administrative template to an individual computer or Add the administrative template to Active Directory
3. Restart Microsoft Edge: edge://restart.

Unmanaged BYOPC preview

To enable protected remote or home access to org data from Microsoft Edge for Business on personal Windows devices using:

• Intune Application Configuration Policies (ACP) to customize the org user experience in Microsoft Edge for Business.
• Intune Application Protection Policies (APP) to secure org data and ensure the client device is healthy when using Microsoft Edge for Business.
• Windows Defender client threat defense integrated with Intune APP to detect local health threats on personal Windows devices.
• Application Protection Conditional Access to ensure the device is protected and healthy before granting protected service access via Azure Active Directory (Azure AD).

Participation requirements:

• Access to a test enterprise tenant for validation.
• Provide ongoing feedback about your experience with preview features via our Teams channel.
• Complete Validation scenarios and provide your feedback.
• Engage with the Microsoft product group during the preview.

Provide feedback

Your feedback while using Microsoft Edge for Business is valuable and it helps us improve the product!

For feedback about enterprise personal browser policy or any of the other Microsoft Edge for Business features, you can press alt + shift + I in the browser to open the Send feedback dialog where you can share your thoughts. You can also leave feedback in our TechCommunity forum.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I correct a wrong browser window decision made by the browser?

There are two ways to change which browser window is used to open a website: 

• Use the following Omnibar Switching icon to switch back to the preferred browser window. This action makes the browser remember your choice for that URL.

  

• Go to edge://settings/profiles/multiProfileSettings and select Choose preferred browser for sites to turn off or select a preferred profile for the applicable site.

Does the browser window switching preference sync across other Microsoft Edge channels?

No, currently it doesn't. You have to make switching preferences on each channel separately.

What sites does the browser window switch on?

The private preview provides switching for the following sites:

• Amazon
• BestBuy
• Target
• Walmart

Over time, work-related sites such as Microsoft 365 apps and services requiring work login will automatically open in the work browser window. You'll see a growing set of popular sites that automatically open in the personal browser window as the experience continues to expand.

How can users control which browser window a website opens in?

The option to manage how sites open appears in the browsing window that opens following the selection to open the URL in a different browser window. Additionally, users can manage and customize their Microsoft Edge for Business and personal URL lists by navigating to Choose how external links open in Microsoft Edge settings.

Will favorites, history, and passwords be shared between the Microsoft Edge for Business and personal browser windows?

No – browser favorites, history, and passwords aren't shared between the browser windows.

See also

• Microsoft Edge Enterprise landing page