Suggestions For Edge From My Experience (Microsoft, Please Listen 🤞

What's up, Microsoft Community! 👋 I literally don't remember how long ago it was when I posted asking on how to join the Edge Insider Program, but things have changed for me a little since then, & but my love for tech, & innovation remains, as it always will. So, without further ado, let's jump right into this post, since I have some suggested upgrades & changes I would like to see be made for the pc version of Edge, based on my experience with it in the last several years... And also, the post itself will be divided into 2 categories: Privacy, & Improvements.

Instead of typing out the longest novel in recorded history about my relationship with Edge, I will simply sum it up: It's a great browser, & it most certainly rivals Chrome in a number of ways, & despite some of its current flaws, I do enjoy using it. But, there are some things I would like to see changed, which I will lay out for y'all. 👇

PRIVACY: Compared to the likes of Google Chrome, even though Microsoft still does collect a certain amount of data, in order to provide the Microsoft-based services to it's users, I personally tend to consider the privacy situation to be slightly better than Chrome, just not as invasive. Especially, given that there are literally settings you can actually toggle on or off in order to enhance your privacy. And I could have laid out some of the privacy enhancements I would like to see improved within, in a great amount of detail, but I'm not always the best at coming up with the right words to say at the right times. 🙄🤦‍♂️😂 So, I instead got the opinion of an AI chatbot I use more often, in order to brainstorm ideas for improving Edge's privacy. And you can see my full chat interaction in this recording, courtesy of this publicly accessible Google Drive link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HtPXsMtOv8l3GyiNMS1Wg_pnWdXPnN6U/view?usp=sharing  (By the way, if any of you tend to agree with these improvements, be sure to like the post, or upvote, if that's even possible. 😉👍)

IMPROVEMENTS: 

1. In my own personal opinion, having a translator baked right into your browser is WAY better than nothing at all, even if it sucks. But, that leads me to an area where I feel like Microsoft might want to re-think their strategy: The Microsoft Translator is quite frankly, not that good at all compared to Google Translate, or even DeepL Translate- the latter of which I consider to be an "underdog" type of company compared to the bigger players out there, & they pride themselves on their quality translations, even though their list of supported languages is still expanding, as is their business, as we speak. (And I even confirmed this myself by testing the Microsoft Translator out on a few foreign websites I know of, & also by consulting with four different AI chatbots, & they all said that compared to its competition out there, it just isn't cutting the mustard, which is quite embarrassing.) However, I would like to pitch a wild idea to Microsoft: Why not just scrap the built-in translation, for DeepL, while showing them some love & support for their hard work, & commitment? 🤷‍♂️😏

2. For this part, I decided to combine two of the complaints I have into one, since they BOTH have to do with the appearance within the browser. And I know that this may or may not align with some people out there, but the point I'm highlighting is that this isn't what I prefer. These two complaints I have include: Not having the ability to hide the "Add this page to favorites", AND the "Extensions" buttons from the toolbar, which is right next to the address bar. (And you can see what I mean by viewing the included screenshot.)

I do happen to recall that Microsoft used to have the option to hide the extension button itself from the toolbar, but for whatever reason(s), that isn't really a thing as of right now, & I even checked this within the settings, & by making sure that I have the latest browser version, which I do. Still, to say that I'm disappointed would be a gross understatement, to say the least, but I REALLY hope that Microsoft listens to this bit of feedback, & takes the right course of action, here... 🫤🥺🤞🙏

3. By now, I'm sure a good number of you, who happen to be tech-savvy, probably know that Microsoft Edge IS considered to be faster, & more resource efficient compared to Opera, or even Google Chrome, for instance. But, there is 1 browser which I use, & that I genuinely think Microsoft could take some serious inspiration from, & it's Brave. From what I have observed myself, & also going by other data online, there is no doubt about it that Brave is markedly more efficient compared to Edge. And it comes down to how Brave handles privacy within their browser, as a whole, but also from some architectural tweaks to the underlying Chromium code itself that makes Brave, quite frankly, noticeably better than Edge, in this case. (Now, before any of you bother to take up your lighted torches, pitchforks, & prepare to roast me, just hear me out that I'm not actually playing favorites, here. But, I do think there is room for improvement, on this front.) 

4. One incredibly useful feature that I absolutely LOVE in modern day web browsers is being able to hover over my tabs, when needed, or in case I ever feel the need to get a quick check while I am multitasking. But, while the functionality within Edge is pretty decent, the accuracy isn't NEARLY as good as compared to what Opera uses, which in my opinion, somehow has the best implementation of this technology, however they pulled this off. (Seriously, folks. I'm not even joshing you, here. Try doing it within with Opera, Opera Air, or even Opera GX, for that matter, & I'm sure you will totally see what I mean.) Now, while I would never in my life, ask for one company to copy another's, or steal a patent, or whatever, this is another area where I think Edge can be improved in, so, I will keep my eyes & ears pealed for future releases down the line, or even if Microsoft DOES end up seeing my post, here. 

5. And onto my final complaint- earlier on, I noticed that Edge did have the Secure Network in preview/beta, & while accessing foreign websites, or even watching movies online, it really came in handy for me. But now, it has been removed from the toolbar, & only the toggle for it exists in the settings. So, Microsoft, I hope you guys are working on refining this particular feature, & I hope you plan to bring it back soon. 🤞

Well, with all that being said, I hope this post gets noticed by y'all in the community, & that perhaps, it aligns with what others hope to see in future releases of Edge. If any of you happen to have any questions for me, or need additional details, feel free to drop me a line, or even comment on this post, & I will be happy to get back with you, & fill any of you in. Thanks in advance, everyone! 🙏🙇‍♂️😊