Tracking Prevention is one of Microsoft Edge’s built-in privacy features, and it can make a real difference in how much of your browsing activity websites can follow. But like many privacy tools, the best setting depends on how you use the web and how much site compatibility you are willing to trade for privacy.
If you are wondering whether you should use it, the short answer is usually yes — but the right level matters. Edge’s tracking protection can reduce third-party tracking, cut down on ad profiling, and improve privacy without requiring an extension.
What Tracking Prevention Does
Tracking Prevention blocks or limits trackers that websites, advertisers, and analytics services use to follow you around the web. These trackers can build a profile of your browsing habits, interests, and device activity across multiple sites.
The feature focuses mainly on third-party trackers. It does not make you anonymous online, and it does not stop a website from seeing information you give it directly, such as when you sign in or fill out a form.
The Three Tracking Prevention Levels
- Basic blocks the least and lets most trackers work. It offers the most website compatibility but the least privacy.
- Balanced is the default setting in Microsoft Edge. It blocks trackers from sites you have not visited while trying to keep most websites working normally.
- Strict blocks the most trackers and gives the strongest privacy protection, but it can break some sites or cause features like embedded video, logins, or payment pages to behave oddly.
Which Setting Should Most People Use?
For most people, Balanced is the best choice. It improves privacy without requiring much troubleshooting and usually avoids the compatibility problems that can happen with Strict.
If you are especially privacy-conscious and do not mind adjusting site exceptions, Strict may be worth trying. If you run into too many broken pages, Balanced is the safer long-term option.
When Strict Is a Good Idea
- You want stronger privacy and are comfortable troubleshooting occasional site issues.
- You mostly browse trusted sites and do not rely heavily on ad-heavy or older websites.
- You use separate sign-in methods or password managers and want to reduce cross-site tracking as much as possible.
When You Might Prefer Balanced
- You want better privacy with minimal hassle.
- You use a lot of online banking, work portals, school sites, or shopping sites.
- You do not want to constantly add exceptions for pages that fail to load correctly.
When Basic Makes Sense
- A website you use regularly breaks with stronger protection and you do not want to troubleshoot it.
- You are testing a site and need maximum compatibility.
- You already use other privacy tools and only want light tracking protection from Edge.
How to Change Tracking Prevention in Edge
- Open Microsoft Edge.
- Select the three-dot menu in the upper-right corner.
- Choose Settings.
- Open Privacy, search, and services.
- Under Tracking prevention, choose Basic, Balanced, or Strict.
You can also manage site exceptions from the same area. If a specific page stops working, adding it to the exception list is usually better than turning the feature off entirely.
What Problems Tracking Prevention Can Cause
- Embedded content may not load, such as videos, comment widgets, or social media posts.
- Some sign-in flows may fail or loop until you allow extra trackers.
- Shopping carts, payment pages, or booking systems may behave unpredictably on certain sites.
- Website layout or personalization features may not appear as intended.
Should You Use It If You Already Use an Ad Blocker?
Yes, usually. An ad blocker and Tracking Prevention solve related but different problems. Ad blockers focus on ads and many associated requests, while Tracking Prevention is designed to reduce cross-site tracking behavior in the browser itself.
Using both can improve privacy, but stacking privacy tools can increase the chance that a website misbehaves. If a site breaks, check whether the issue is caused by the ad blocker, Tracking Prevention, or both.
How to Decide
- Choose Balanced if you want the best mix of privacy and compatibility.
- Choose Strict if privacy matters more than convenience and you can handle occasional fixes.
- Choose Basic only if a site does not work properly and you need more compatibility.
Bottom Line
Yes, Tracking Prevention in Microsoft Edge is worth using for most people. It is a simple built-in way to reduce tracking without installing anything extra. Balanced is the best default for most users, while Strict is better for stronger privacy if you are willing to deal with the occasional website issue.
