Microsoft is experimenting with an old idea for its Edge browser that you’ll either love or hate

Microsoft Edge
(Image credit: Shutterstock / monticello)

Microsoft Edge might be getting a search bar that will sit alongside the main URL bar where you type in website addresses in the browser.

So, instead of a long URL bar at the top of the web browser, you’ll have a somewhat shorter address bar with a compact search bar nestling right next to it.

The idea is rather than having web addresses typed into the URL bar as well as web searches, the user can keep the latter separate. You can choose whatever search engine you want the bar to operate with, too.

Why split search out into a second bar? Well, it’s more convenient in some respects. Imagine that you’re reading a web page that gives you an idea, and you want to search the web for that. Instead of having to open a new tab, and fire up your search, you can stay on your existing tab, click in the new search bar, type the search query there, and the results will automatically be opened in a new tab by Edge.

This option has a toggle to turn it off, by the way, so you don’t need to have this second bar visible. Also, the feature is still in testing, with a limited rollout to the Canary version of Edge, as Deskmodder, the German tech site which spotted this development, pointed out.

As ever, features which are in early testing may be discarded depending on feedback from users.


Analysis: Don’t forget about privacy

Regarding that feedback, this is a somewhat divisive feature. There are slight time-saving elements here that some folks are keen on, as we already touched upon, and it bolsters your privacy, too.

What does it do on the privacy front? If you have search integrated into the address bar, the URLs you type can be fed to Google (or Bing, or whatever engine you use) depending on your settings, and that’s something which bothers more privacy-conscious types. Splitting search content into a separate bar means URLs aren’t being fed to the ever-present data hoover of the search machinery.

Even with those arguments, there are those who think this second bar is a waste of interface space – and an idea abandoned in the past (which is true). Although some of the best web browsers of today do still use this two-bar scheme of things, such as Firefox for example.

As is often the case, whether you like this feature or not will be down to personal preference, and exactly how you use your web browser, and your own particular workflow within the app. Although as noted, for those not keen, you don’t have to use the search bar, it’s just an option (and one in testing only, for now).

Via Neowin, Windows Latest

You might also like

Darren is a freelancer writing news and features for TechRadar (and occasionally T3) across a broad range of computing topics including CPUs, GPUs, various other hardware, VPNs, antivirus and more. He has written about tech for the best part of three decades, and writes books in his spare time (his debut novel - 'I Know What You Did Last Supper' - was published by Hachette UK in 2013).

Read more
Woman gaming on a computer at home
Windows 11’s Start menu search gets new, clearer labels, as Microsoft tries to avoid EU regulation trouble
Woman using a Windows computer with Microsoft Edge
Microsoft’s Project Phoenix could make Edge look better than ever in Windows 11 – but I’m not sure it’s enough to take the fight to Google Chrome
Woman using a Windows computer with Microsoft Edge
Don’t panic – Microsoft’s Edge browser isn’t about to subject you to a flood of unblocked adverts (not yet, anyway)
The Microsoft Edge logo on a black background displayed on a laptop screen.
Microsoft just gave Edge a great new feature to ensure the browser doesn’t slow down the PC, and it’s tempting me to switch from Google Chrome
Bing
Google fires back as Microsoft is accused of 'tricking' people into using Bing
Google Chrome browser icon
A new split-screen feature is coming to Google Chrome, and it's surprisingly powerful
Latest in Edge
Woman using a Windows computer with Microsoft Edge
Don’t panic – Microsoft’s Edge browser isn’t about to subject you to a flood of unblocked adverts (not yet, anyway)
The Microsoft Edge logo on a black background displayed on a laptop screen.
Microsoft just gave Edge a great new feature to ensure the browser doesn’t slow down the PC, and it’s tempting me to switch from Google Chrome
Woman using a Windows computer with Microsoft Edge
Microsoft gets rid of ‘Edge uninstall’ advice page after facing criticism over it having nothing to do with removing the app, and just promoting the browser instead
Microsoft Edge
Sorry, you're not getting Microsoft Edge off of your PC, at least according to its new 'uninstall' document
Woman using a Windows computer with Microsoft Edge
Microsoft’s Project Phoenix could make Edge look better than ever in Windows 11 – but I’m not sure it’s enough to take the fight to Google Chrome
Happy PC gamer shows heart sign with hands
Microsoft could tempt PC gamers away from Chrome with nifty new ‘Game Assist’ mode for its Edge browser
Latest in News
A man getting angry with his laptop.
Windows 11 bug deletes Copilot from the OS – is this the first glitch ever some users will be happy to encounter?
An image of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra from a hands-on event
Samsung's latest software upgrade could mean Galaxy phones beat iPhones for gaming – but you can't get it yet
God of War 20th Anniversary Graphic.
Sony has unveiled some goodies to celebrate God of War’s 20th anniversary, but it's not the remaster I was hoping for
person at a computer
Many workers are overconfident at spotting phishing attacks
Apple iPhone 16 Plus Review
The iPhone 17 Air could have an affordable price, and better battery life than you might have expected
Some of the Avengers standing in a room without their costumes on in Marvel's Avengers: Endgame movie
'It's a new beginning': Avengers 5 and 6 directors tease what Marvel fans can expect from Doomsday and Secret Wars' plot – and how they will set up the MCU's future