Chromium Microsoft Edge Keeps Running in the Background

Microsoft’s new Edge browser, which is now the default option on Windows 10 and is also available on macOS, comes with a rich feature lineup that’s borrowed from both Google Chrome and the original version of Edge, also referred to as legacy, bundled with the OS.

This was a priority for Microsoft, as the software giant wanted to make the transition from one browser to another as smooth as possible, so some of the features originally available in Project Spartan are now live in the Chromium successor as well.

One of the capabilities that have been migrated to the new Edge is support for a background service that would keep running even after closing the browser.

In theory, this service shouldn’t have any impact on system performance, as it’s automatically suspended when you close the browser. It is, however, required for running apps based on Edge without the need for launching the browser.

As said, this is a feature that was originally introduced in the first Edge version in Windows 10, but it’s now offered in the Chromium Edge too.

And just like before, you can easily disable it if you don’t want to run Edge-based apps and would rather turn off the background service.

While in the original version of Edge the whole thing required more than just a couple of clicks, things have gotten much more straightforward in the new browser, as Microsoft has added a dedicated option in this regard (previously, users were required to disable the background service for Microsoft Edge from the Settings screen in Windows 10 or turn to a registry change for the same thing).

So to disable the background service in the new Edge, follow this path:


Microsoft Edge Settings System


As a shortcut, you can copy and paste the following code in the address bar of the browser:


edge://settings/system


The toggle that you must click to disable is called:


Continue running background apps when Microsoft Edge is closed


The addition of this feature in Microsoft Edge isn’t necessarily surprising, not only because the original version of the browser boasted such capabilities, but also because it’s available in Google Chrome as well.

Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome share the same Chromium engine, so many of the features offered in one of these two are also bundled with the other.

So Google Chrome also has an option to run in the background for app support, and you can too disable it from the settings screen. This time, the path that you must follow is this:


Google Chrome Settings System


The option is called:


Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed


Contrary to what some people believe, keeping a browser service active in the background doesn’t mean the application collects data or enables telemetry services, as such an approach is required only for apps that can run without an active instance of the browser.

The new Microsoft Edge is now available for download on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10, but also on…