Hi All, We are finishing the rollout of our new Microsoft Edge to our Windows 10 customers and would like to get additional feedback. If you have chosen not to sign in to the browser, we'd like to better understand why, as we're reviewing decisions around personalization and want to make sure that we're accurately prioritizing your needs. (We're already looking into synchronization of history, open tabs, and mobile-to-desktop / desktop-to-mobile.) So, could you help us understand why you chose not to sign into the browser and how we can help provide missing capabilities, explain benefits better, or streamline the process? We want to make it easy to unlock all the personalized features available in Microsoft Edge! We will be active in this thread and have also set up some time for you to call in to talk with us on Thursday September 10th from noon - 1:30 pm PDT. Link to calendar invite for this call: https://ux.microsoft.com/Talk/EdgeSignIn Thanks, Elliot

Elliot Kirk I simply don't want to sign into browser just for personal privacy reasons. Ironically though even I didn't sign into the browser, I kept sign in with accounts like Microsoft, Google, Twitter, Facebook and etc on webpages for easier access. I only sign into browser for syncing bookmarks and maybe collections between devices, otherwise I just sign out of the browser.

Elliot Kirk The same as when Google started signing people in: privacy and trust issues, combined with feature creep concerns. https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2018/09/23/why-im-leaving-chrome/ User consent matters. Regardless of the reasons for people not wanting to sign in to a browser, it should always remain the user's choice – and that choice should be explicit, opt-in, no tricking users or using dark patterns; and in the case of Google – not trying to justify their decision by down-playing user objections. Some people obviously find value in signing in to the browser, however I am not one of those people and so for me personally it is not something I want to do.

Elliot Kirk In case user is using single device and not want to Sync everything across all devices, there is no reason of sign-in with account. There are cases like guest is coming and then we relay on InPrivate or Guest profile.However, it would be nice to have option like complete profile removal. One of greatest concern for many users is like they are sign in with profile and then sign out but even they sign out, part of profile or component or profile name might remains in the system. So in case when user sign out and chose to remove profile, it completely remove all traces of profile (e.g. in File, Registry,...) , then users will trust more on profile.Another interesting feature would be ability to set delete unused profile after a while (e.g. 30 days) or ability for user to set remove profile from specific device using Microsoft Account settings.

Elliot Kirk Why would I want to sign into a browser? I have two PC's, my work one and my home one. I like to keep them separate so syncing between them is totally undesirable. It happened once by accident and I had to spend ages breaking the connection and getting rid of work favorites from my home PC. So what other benefit do I get from signing in? I'm trying to reduce the number of apps I need to sign into, not increase them.

Elliot Kirk Like several others here, I do not sign in to browsers (I use both Edge Dev and Firefox) mostly for privacy concerns. My two primary computers are both Surface devices and usually travel with me. One is work, one is personal. There is some, but not much overlap between the bookmarks on them. If I do want a bookmark or set of them transferred to the other I generally just email myself the link. When I set up a new computer or a different browser on the same computer, I export the bookmarks and import them into the new browser. I frankly would welcome the convenience of sharing passwords, bookmarks, collections, etc., between devices but am simply not willing to trust that this information is safe sent elsewhere.

Not signing into the browser? Why or why not, we would love to better understand!

18 Replies

MSDarwish
Brass Contributor
Sep 03, 2020
Please distinct "Browse as guest" from "InPrivate Mode" by adding an option for temporary sign in when using "Browse as guest", i.e. to be signed in for just this session and without adding the account to the settings of Windows 10 PC.

This will be helpful when I use the PC of one of my family/friends and want to access my favorites or history (when it becomes available).
- Elliot Kirk
  Former Employee
  Sep 03, 2020
  Hi MSDarwish, are you asking for a mode that has read-only access to you bookmarks and history, but not access to your passwords, current session info and extensions? Is this preventing you from signing in to the browser in general? Have you thought about manually creating a "guest" profile and copying your bookmarks to that account? Thanks - Elliot
  - MSDarwish
    Brass Contributor
    Sep 04, 2020
    Hi Elliot Kirk,
    
    In general, I sign in with my personal account on my personal PC. But, when I use a friend's PC, I don't and so I have hard times to access my websites. This feature will help to have one's information on demand wherever he is.
    
    As for what information to be synced though it's more helpful to sync passwords and current session tabs, I understand its security concerns, so the implementation is up to the Edge team.
    
    Having a local backup of bookmarks won't really help in this use case as it won't be available anywhere other than the device where the backup is stored.
    
    Maybe my suggestion is not closely related to the main topic or is a much-requested feature, but it may be helpful in some situations. I think it makes sense for 'Guest' to be able to login for a session and access their information. Also, an important point is the option to separate Edge's account from Windows's Emails & Accounts section.
    
    Thanks
    M Darwish

Forum Discussion

Not signing into the browser? Why or why not, we would love to better understand!

18 Replies

Resources