In Microsoft Edge there are just like there Google Chrome hidden settings available. That's not surprising what the Edge browser is based on Chromium, just like Google Chrome.
The hidden settings in Microsoft Edge, also known as “flags” or “experiments,” are various experimental features and advanced options that have not yet been fully integrated into the browser or are still in testing.
By accessing these hidden settings you can change browser settings and experiment with new features that may not be available to the general public. These features are often designed to improve performance, security, and user experience, but may not be stable or fully functional.
The functions are often replaced by a new version. It is therefore possible that if you enable a certain feature via the hidden settings, this feature will disappear or be disabled in a future version. Please take this into account when making changes.
Open Microsoft Edge hidden settings
To open the hidden settings or the “flags” menu, type in the address bar: edge: // flags /
You will then see a message:
“Enabling these features may cause you to lose browsing data or compromise your security or privacy. Enabled features apply to all users of this browser. If you are an enterprise administrator, you should not use these flags in production.”.
You can enable a hidden feature by changing the status of the feature from “default” to “enabled”. Then confirm saving and restart the Microsoft Edge browser.
If you are looking for a specific function, you can search for the function name via the “search flags” field at the top. You will also see a “reset all” button to the right of the search field to return all functions to their original status.
Here is a list of the most well-known experimental Microsoft Edge functions that are still working at the time of writing this article.
Smooth Scrolling
Improves the scrolling experience on web pages by enabling smoother and more responsive scrolling motions.
Parallel Download
This setting uses parallel connections to enable faster downloads of resources such as images, which can help web pages load faster.
Tab Hover Cards
Displays informational cards when you hover over a tab, allowing you to preview the tab's contents without actually having to open it.
Hardware Media Key Handling
This allows media keys on your keyboard (such as play/pause, next and previous) to be used to play or control media in the browser, such as videos or music.
Experimental Web Platform features
These are several experimental web platform features that are not yet fully standardized, but that web developers can enable to explore and test new capabilities in web applications.
Auto Dark Mode for Web Contents
This setting forces dark mode on all websites, even if they don't support dark mode by default. This can be useful if you want to have a dark display while browsing via Edge.
Show block option in autoplay settings
Allows you to adjust the autoplay settings for media content, such as automatically playing videos on websites.
I hope this helped you. Thank you for reading!
Also read: The 11 best Microsoft Edge experimental settings.