How to Disable Address Bar Drop-down List Suggestions in Microsoft Edge

Wondering how to disable address bar drop-down list suggestions in Microsoft Edge?

Every browser includes an address field as one of its most important features. Whenever you begin typing, the drop-down list offers you several suggestions based on your search history or bookmarks. That way, you can get where you are going faster. 

However, if your browser is used by multiple users, you might want to turn the suggestion feature off, for some obvious privacy reasons. In this guide, we will walk you through several methods of doing so. All the methods are easy to execute, and should not take much of your time. 

Let’s get started!

1. Modify Settings.

The easiest way to disable address bar drop-down list suggestions in Microsoft Edge is by modifying the browser’s settings. You must have the latest Microsoft Edge version installed on your PC before proceeding. 

Here is what you need to do:

  1. Launch Microsoft Edge and click on the More button (three dots) on the top-right corner of the window.
  2. Select Settings from the list of options available.
  3. Choose the Privacy, search, and services option from the left pane and click on Address bar and search in the right pane.
  1. Now turn off the toggle against Show me search and site suggestions using my typed characters and Show me search and site suggestions using my typed characters.

This should make the desired changes.

2. Modify Windows Registry.

Windows’ Registry stores low-level information about the running processes and applications. Windows uses the Registry to perform relevant operations, making it a critical component of our operating system. 

If your computer is shared by multiple users and you wish to disable the address-bar feature in Microsoft Edge for everyone so that they cannot undo the settings, the best way to do it is through Windows Registry.

Make sure, however, that you are logged into Windows as an administrator before proceeding with this method.

  1. Press Windows + R keys simultaneously on your keyboard to open a Run dialogue box. 
  2. Inside the text field of the dialogue box, type ‘regedit’ and hit Enter. This will launch Windows Registry on your PC.
  1. Once you are inside the Registry Editor, navigate to the location mentioned below. 
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\MicrosoftEdge\ServiceUI
  1. Now right-click anywhere in the right pane and select the New > DWORD (32-bit) Value option.
  2. Rename this newly created value as ShowOneBox.
  3. Double-click on ShowOneBox and under Value data, type 0.

Once done, restart your PC to save the changes.

3. Try Using CleanMyPC.

If your operating system contains corruption errors, you may encounter issues when executing the methods in this guide.

In general, corruption issues result from junk files in your system, so if you haven’t cleaned them up in a while, now is the time. We recently tested some of the best cleaners in the market and found CleanMyPC to be the best. 

Install CleanMyPC on your PC

It includes a comprehensive list of tools for system maintenance that can do a great deal more than just remove junk files. These tools include (but are not limited to) Multi-Uninstaller, Registry Cleaner, and a Speed Booster. All that you need to do is install CleanMyPC and run a scan using it. If any issues are identified, it will take care of them with little to no user input.

Install CleanMyPC now and get your PC up and running like new!


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4. Modify Group Policy Editor.

An administrative-level utility, Group Policy Editor, allows advanced users to modify the working of their operating systems. Information about Windows programs and functions is stored in the form of policies in the Group Policy Editor. By modifying the relevant policies, you can make the desired changes. 

Here is what you need to do:

  1. Visit Microsoft’s official website
  2. Scroll down the window and select the version details of your Microsoft Edge. 
  3. Click the GET POLICY FILES button to download the policy files. 
  1. Once the download is complete, extract the downloaded file and then open the folder. 
  2. In the folder, navigate to the location mentioned below.
MicrosoftEdgePolicyTemplates\windows\admx
  1. Copy the msedge.admx and msedge.adml files and paste them in the C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions folder.
How to Disable ‘End Process’ in the Browser Task Manager on Microsoft Edge
  1. Once you have pasted the files, restart your PC. 
  2. Upon reboot, open a Run dialogue box by pressing Windows + R keys on your keyboard simultaneously. 
  3. Inside the text field of the dialogue box, type ‘gpedit.msc‘ and hit Enter. Doing so will launch the Group Policy Editor on your PC. 
  4. In the Group Policy Editor window, navigate to the location mentioned below. 
Computer Configuration\ Administrative Templates\ Microsoft Edge
  1. Now locate and double-click on Allow Address bar drop-down list suggestions in the right pane.
  1. Select Disabled or Not Configured and click on Apply to save the changes.

This brings us to the end of our guide on ways to disable address bar drop-down list suggestions in Microsoft Edge. We tried walking you through all the steps in detail and hope that one of the methods mentioned in this post did the trick for you. In case you still have any confusion about the steps, please let us know in the comment section below!

If this guide helped you, please share it. 🙂

Author

  • Zainab Falak

    Zainab Falak is a staff writer for Saint and an expert in Microsoft Windows, having authored more than 200 posts. She has a Bachelors in Actuarial Sciences and her passion for computers extends to exploring various aspects, from UI customization to the Windows registry and exploring error codes. Twitter LinkedIn

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