Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL; DR
- Microsoft has added a feature to its Edge browser that allows users to follow content creators.
- The feature appears to be disabled, and the feature is turned on by default in the latest Edge update.
- Edge now sends URLs from every website you visit to the Bing API servers.
Just as Microsoft Edge is starting to attract new users with its integration with Bing AI, it may be losing some of its momentum. The reason is that the browser is facing an issue that affects the privacy of its users.
Microsoft Edge browser appears to be sending the complete URLs of every website you visit to the Bing API servers, according to the edge. Redditors first discovered the problem last week. The problem appears to stem from a feature that allows users to follow content creators.
Microsoft first introduced the “Follow creators” feature in January 2022. However, a recent update to Microsoft Edge caused the feature to stop working properly. Follow creators are also enabled by default due to the update.
One of the first to spot the bug was Reddit user hackermchackface:
What causes Edge to leak all visited URLs after the latest update? The API is: bingapis.com/api/v7/followweb/isfollowable?
The GET request includes the full url of each page you go to.
Searching for references to this url gives very few results, and there is no documentation on this feature at all. The Json response returns the type “FollowableStatus” which does not return Google results, which is rare.
The feature appears to be intended to notify Bing when you are on a particular site. But the malfunction causes the feature to send every domain you visit to Bing.
Microsoft is said to be aware of this issue. Microsoft Communications Director Caitlin Roulston provided this statement to The Verge:
We are aware of the reports, are investigating and will take appropriate action to address any issues.
Until Microsoft fixes this bug, it’s probably best to use a different browser. If you want to continue using Edge, it is recommended that you go into Settings and disable the Follow Creators feature.