How to start a private browsing session in Microsoft Edge

To start a private browsing session in Microsoft Edge, press Ctrl + Shift + N on Windows (Command + Shift + N on a Mac) or select Settings and more (…) > New InPrivate window.

Edge calls private browsing InPrivate, and this guide covers every way to open it on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android, what it does and does not hide, and how to fix it when the option is missing.

Start an InPrivate browsing session on Windows

The keyboard shortcut is the quickest route, and the menu route works when you prefer the mouse. Both open a separate window, and your normal Edge windows stay as they are.

1. Open Microsoft Edge.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + N. A new InPrivate window opens.
3. If you prefer the mouse, select Settings and more (…) in the top-right corner instead.
4. Select New InPrivate window.
5. Type a search or web address in the InPrivate window and browse as usual.

Edge deletes the session's history, cookies and site data, along with passwords, addresses and form data entered in it, once you close every InPrivate window.

Ways to open InPrivate in Microsoft Edge compared

Your situation	Use this	Why
Edge is already open on Windows	Ctrl + Shift + N	One key combination, no menus
Edge is closed and pinned to the taskbar	Right-click the Edge icon > New InPrivate window	Starts private without opening a normal window first
You want one link kept out of your history	Right-click the link > Open link in InPrivate window	Only that page goes into the private window
You are on a Mac	Command + Shift + N	The Mac equivalent of the Windows shortcut
You are on an iPhone, iPad or Android phone	Menu (…) > New InPrivate tab	The mobile app uses InPrivate tabs, not windows
You want Edge to always start private	The InPrivate mode availability policy set to Forced	Every window Edge opens is InPrivate

What InPrivate browsing does in Microsoft Edge

InPrivate keeps the session off your device once you close it. Other people who use the same PC will not see what you did in it.

Data or feature	During the InPrivate session	After you close all InPrivate windows
Browsing and download history	Kept for the session only	Deleted
Cookies and other site data	Kept, so sites can still recognise you	Deleted
Cached images and files	Kept for the session only	Deleted
Site permissions and hosted app data	Kept for the session only	Deleted
New passwords, addresses and form entries	Not saved	Nothing to delete
Favorites you add	Saved	Kept, and synced to your signed-in Edge
Files you download	Saved to your device	Kept on your device
Saved passwords and form fill from your profile	Available to use	Unchanged
Searches with Microsoft Bing	Run as InPrivate search	Not linked to your Microsoft account

Edge also turns off address bar suggestions from your search engine and does not send information about sites you visit to Microsoft while you browse InPrivate.

Open InPrivate in Edge from the taskbar or a link

These two routes are useful when Edge is closed, or when only one link needs to stay private.

1. To start from the taskbar, right-click the Microsoft Edge icon on the Windows taskbar.
2. Select New InPrivate window in the menu that appears.
3. To open a single link privately, open Edge and find the link on any page.
4. Right-click the link.
5. Select Open link in InPrivate window. The page loads in a new InPrivate window, and your current tab stays where it is.

Start an InPrivate browsing session on Mac

Edge for Mac uses the same InPrivate window, with the Command key in place of Ctrl.

1. Open Microsoft Edge on your Mac.
2. Press Command + Shift + N to open a new InPrivate window.
3. To use the menu instead, select Settings and more (…) > New InPrivate window.
4. To open one link privately, Control-click (or right-click) the link and select Open link in InPrivate window.
5. Press Command + Shift + W to close the InPrivate window when you finish.

Start InPrivate browsing on iPhone and iPad

The Edge app for iOS and iPadOS opens private browsing as InPrivate tabs. Edge does not save history or form data for an InPrivate tab, and deletes its cookies when you close the tab.

1. Open the Microsoft Edge app.
2. Tap the menu ….
3. Tap New InPrivate tab.
4. To use the tab switcher instead, tap the square tabs icon that shows a number.
5. Tap the InPrivate tab at the top, then tap the plus icon +.

Start InPrivate browsing on Android

Edge for Android works the same way. After you close all InPrivate tabs, Edge deletes the temporary profile those tabs used.

1. Open the Microsoft Edge app on your Android phone or tablet.
2. Tap the menu ….
3. Tap New InPrivate tab.
4. To use the tab switcher instead, tap the square tabs icon that shows a number.
5. Tap the InPrivate tab, then tap the plus icon + to open a new private tab.

If a family group manages the account on the phone, InPrivate mode is blocked and the option will not work.

Using extensions in InPrivate windows

Edge runs only the extensions you have allowed in InPrivate. Edge cannot stop an allowed extension from saving your browsing history, so allow only extensions you trust.

1. Open Edge in a normal window and type edge://extensions in the address bar, then press Enter.
2. Find the extension you want to use while browsing privately.
3. Select Details under that extension.
4. Select the Allow in InPrivate checkbox.
5. Open a new InPrivate window with Ctrl + Shift + N. The extension's icon is now available there.

On a work or school PC, an administrator cannot turn this on for you through Group Policy. Microsoft blocks that by design, so you have to tick the box yourself. If an extension stops working in normal windows too, you can turn Edge extensions on or off from the same page.

How to open Edge directly in InPrivate mode

Two options exist. The taskbar menu starts a private window without a normal one, and the InPrivate mode availability policy makes every Edge window InPrivate.

The policy is the stronger option. Set to Forced, it removes normal browsing until you delete the value, and Edge reports that it is managed by your organization.

1. For a one-off private start, right-click the Microsoft Edge icon on the taskbar and select New InPrivate window.
2. To make it permanent, sign in to Windows with an administrator account, press Win + R, type regedit and press Enter.
3. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge. If the Edge key does not exist, right-click Microsoft, select New > Key and name it Edge.
4. Right-click the Edge key, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value and name it InPrivateModeAvailability.
5. Double-click the value, set Value data to 2 and select OK. Value 2 means Forced, 1 disables InPrivate and 0 makes it available.
6. Close and reopen Edge, then go to edge://policy to confirm InPrivateModeAvailability is listed. Every window now opens InPrivate.

To return to normal browsing, delete the InPrivateModeAvailability value and restart Edge.

How to tell whether you are browsing InPrivate

An InPrivate window opens on its own InPrivate start page, separate from your normal new tab page. These checks confirm the session is private.

1. Look at the new tab page. An InPrivate window shows the InPrivate landing page with its own search box, not your usual start page.
2. Type edge://history in the address bar and press Enter. Edge opens it in a normal window, because settings, favorites and history pages cannot be viewed InPrivate.
3. Try to sign in to Edge from the profile picture. Signing in to the browser is not possible in an InPrivate window.
4. Close every InPrivate window, open a normal window and press Ctrl + H. The sites from the private session are not in your history.

What InPrivate does not hide

InPrivate stops other people on your device from seeing your activity. It does not make you invisible on the network or to the sites you visit.

Who or what	Can still see or keep	Why
Websites you visit	Your visit, and anything you do while signed in	Cookies stay active until you close all InPrivate windows
Your employer or school	Browsing activity on their network or managed device	Monitoring happens outside the browser
Your internet provider	Network activity	Traffic still passes through their network
Your device	Downloaded files and new favorites	Edge keeps both after the session
Allowed extensions	Your browsing history	Edge cannot stop extensions from saving it
Websites asking for location	Your precise location, if you allow it	InPrivate uses the location settings of the profile that opened it

InPrivate also does not protect you from malicious websites and adds no extra ad blocking.

InPrivate vs. clearing browsing data

Point	InPrivate window	Clear browsing data
When data is removed	Automatically when the last InPrivate window closes	Only when you run it, or on close if you set that up
What is removed	Only the private session's data	Whatever you tick, for the time range you choose
Effect on your normal history and sign-ins	None	Removes them if you include them
Shortcut	Ctrl + Shift + N	Ctrl + Shift + Delete
Best for	Planning a private session in advance	Cleaning up after you already browsed normally

If you already browsed in a normal window, InPrivate cannot help afterwards. Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete to open the clear browsing data options instead.

InPrivate vs. Guest mode

Guest mode is a temporary, fresh profile. To open it, select your profile icon and then Browse as guest, or press Ctrl + Shift + M.

Point	InPrivate	Guest mode
Starts from	Your current profile	A blank profile
Saved passwords and form fill	Available	Not available
Favorites	Your favorites are available and new ones are kept	None, and nothing is kept
Search suggestions in the address bar	Local suggestions only	None
Data after closing	Session data deleted	All browsing data deleted
Best for	Private browsing on your own PC	Letting someone else use your PC

When you should use more than InPrivate

Your goal	InPrivate alone enough?	Add this
Keep a gift search hidden from family on a shared PC	Yes	Nothing extra
Stop sites personalising ads during the session	No	Block third-party cookies or Strict tracking prevention
Hide activity from your employer, school or internet provider	No	InPrivate cannot do this on their network or device
Avoid malicious sites and downloads	No	Keep Microsoft Defender SmartScreen on, which also works InPrivate
Let a visitor browse without seeing your data	No	Use Guest mode instead

Your wider protection comes from Edge's own privacy and security settings, which apply to normal and InPrivate windows alike.

Quick reference: Edge InPrivate shortcuts

Action	Windows	Mac
Open a new InPrivate window	Ctrl + Shift + N	Command + Shift + N
Open a new tab in the InPrivate window	Ctrl + T	Command + T
Close the current tab	Ctrl + W	Command + W
Close the current window	Ctrl + Shift + W	Command + Shift + W
Browse as a guest	Ctrl + Shift + M	Command + Shift + M
Open clear browsing data options	Ctrl + Shift + Delete	Command + Shift + Delete

Using tracking prevention with InPrivate

By default, InPrivate windows use the same tracking prevention level as your normal windows. You can make them always use Strict, which blocks more trackers but can break some sites.

1. Open Edge in a normal window. Settings pages do not open inside InPrivate.
2. Type edge://settings/privacy in the address bar and press Enter.
3. Make sure Enable Tracking prevention is turned on.
4. Turn on Always use "Strict" tracking prevention when browsing InPrivate.
5. To also stop third-party cookies, go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Cookies and turn on Block third-party cookies.
6. Open a new InPrivate window to apply the change.

How to close an InPrivate session properly

Edge deletes the session only when every InPrivate window is closed. One forgotten private window keeps its cookies and sign-ins alive.

1. Switch to each InPrivate window you opened.
2. Press Ctrl + Shift + W (Command + Shift + W on a Mac), or select the X in the window's top-right corner.
3. Check the taskbar or Dock for any other InPrivate windows and close them too.
4. On iPhone, iPad or Android, open the tab switcher, tap the InPrivate tab, then tap X on each tab or swipe it left or right.
5. Do not expect to reopen these tabs. Closed InPrivate tabs do not appear in History > Recently closed.

Common problems and fixes with Edge InPrivate

The New InPrivate window option is missing or disabled

A family group has activity reporting or web filtering on, or an organization has set the InPrivate mode availability policy to Disabled.

1. Look for a briefcase icon in Edge, or type edge://policy in the address bar, to see whether an organization manages your browser.
2. On a work or school device, ask your administrator. The block is deliberate.
3. On a child account, a family organizer must turn off web filtering and activity reporting in the family group before InPrivate returns.
4. On your own PC, open Registry Editor and check HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge for an InPrivateModeAvailability value of 1. Delete it and restart Edge.

InPrivate opens, but websites still remember me

Another InPrivate window is still open, so the session's cookies were never deleted, or your profile's saved passwords filled in the sign-in.

1. Close every InPrivate window, including any on other desktops.
2. Open a fresh InPrivate window with Ctrl + Shift + N.
3. Do not accept the saved password when the site asks you to sign in.
4. If you need a clean profile with no saved passwords at all, use Browse as guest instead.

A website does not work correctly in InPrivate

Strict tracking prevention or blocked third-party cookies stop parts of the page, or an extension the site needs is not allowed InPrivate.

1. Select the page info icon on the left side of the address bar to see which trackers were blocked.
2. Turn off tracking prevention for that site from the same flyout, then reload the page.
3. In a normal window, set Always use "Strict" tracking prevention when browsing InPrivate back to off if many sites break.
4. Allow the extension the site depends on with Allow in InPrivate on edge://extensions.

Edge crashes or will not open an InPrivate window at all

The Edge installation itself is damaged, which affects normal and InPrivate windows.

1. Restart your PC and try Ctrl + Shift + N again.
2. If Edge still fails, repair or reset Microsoft Edge from Settings > Apps > Installed apps.

Best practices for private browsing in Edge

Practice	Why it matters
Close every InPrivate window when you finish	Data is deleted only after the last one closes
Sign out of sites before closing	Being signed in lets the site link the visit to your account
Delete downloaded files you do not want kept	Edge keeps downloads on your device after the session
Allow only trusted extensions InPrivate	Edge cannot stop them saving your history
Turn on Strict tracking prevention for InPrivate	Fewer trackers follow you during the session
Use Guest mode for other people on your PC	InPrivate still exposes your saved passwords and favorites
Do not treat InPrivate as security	It does not block malicious sites or extra ads

Microsoft Edge InPrivate browsing FAQ

How do I start a private browser in Edge?

Press Ctrl + Shift + N in Microsoft Edge on Windows, or Command + Shift + N on a Mac. You can also select Settings and more (…) and then New InPrivate window. The private session runs in its own window beside your normal ones.

How does private browsing work in Edge?

Edge keeps the InPrivate session's history, cookies, cache and form data only while the window is open. When you close all InPrivate windows, it deletes that data. Favorites you add and files you download are kept, and new passwords are never saved.

Why do people use private browsing?

People use private browsing to keep activity off a shared device, such as gift shopping, a one-off sign-in or searches they do not want in suggestions later. It hides activity from other people on the same device, not from websites, employers or internet providers.

How do I open a link in private browsing?

Right-click the link in Microsoft Edge and select Open link in InPrivate window. Edge opens that page in a new InPrivate window and leaves your current tab untouched. On a Mac, Control-click the link to see the same option.

How do you go to private browsing on a phone?

In the Microsoft Edge app for iPhone, iPad or Android, tap the menu (…) and then New InPrivate tab. You can also open the tab switcher, tap the InPrivate tab and tap the plus icon to start a private tab.

How do I set up Edge to always use private browsing?

Set the InPrivateModeAvailability policy to 2 (Forced) under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge and restart Edge. Every window then opens InPrivate. Delete the value to go back to normal browsing, because the policy removes normal windows entirely.

How do I make my browsing more private than InPrivate alone?

Turn on Always use Strict tracking prevention when browsing InPrivate at edge://settings/privacy, and turn on Block third-party cookies. These limit how sites personalise content during the session. Your employer, school and internet provider can still see network activity.

Why can't I enter private browsing in Edge?

InPrivate is unavailable when a family group has web filtering or activity reporting turned on for the account, or when an organization disables it with Group Policy. Check edge://policy to see whether your browser is managed, then ask the person who manages it.