Edge browser includes a hidden about:flags configuration page that lets you tweak the browser’s settings. As an administrator in your organization, you might want to prevent this from happening. The hidden flags allow users to enable or change experimental settings anytime and enable experimental features. If you are an admin, you can disable the about:flags configuration page in Microsoft Edge browser on Windows 11/10, using the Registry Editor or Group Policy Editor.
Disable about:flags page in Edge
Using Group Policy Editor
If your version of Windows 10 ships with the Group Policy Editor, Run gpedit.msc and navigate to the following settings:
Computer Configuration/ Administrative Templates/ Windows Components/ Microsoft Edge
Double-click on the Prevent access to the about:flags page in Microsoft Edge setting to open its Properties box and select Enabled to turn on this policy setting.
This policy setting lets you decide whether employees can access the about:flags page, which is used to change developer settings and to enable experimental features. If you enable this policy setting, employees can’t access the about:flags page. If you disable or don’t configure this setting, employees can access the about:flags page.
Press Apply/OK and exit.
Using Registry Editor
Press Win+R keys to open the Run dialog box. Type regedit and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.
Now navigate to the following path:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft
Once there, right-click on Microsoft and select New > Key. Name the new key as MicrosoftEdge. If you already find the key by the same name you may ignore this step.
Now right-click on this newly created MicrosoftEdge, select New, and select Key. Name it Main. If it exists already, do not try to create it again.
So the structure will now look like this:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\MicrosoftEdge\Main
Now select Main and in the right panel, right-click in an empty space and select New > DWORD (32 bit).
Name it PreventAccessToAboutFlagsInMicrosoftEdge.
Set the value of this key to 1. This will disable your about:flags configuration page.
If you would like to enable it again, set the value to 0.
Once done, close Registry Editor and exit.
When you do this, anyone who tries to access the about:flags page, will see the following message:
You can’t access this page. Your organization doesn’t allow it.
How do I turn off Edge flags?
If you want to disable a specific Edge flag in the browser, you can simply enter edge://flags/ in the address bar in the Microsoft Edge browser first. Then, you can find out all the enabled flags on your screen. Choose a flag you want to turn off and choose the Disabled option. However, if you want to prevent users from using Edge flags, you can use the above-mentioned Group Policy setting.
What are flags in Edge?
Flags in the Microsoft Edge browser are some of the experimental features that the company adds from time to time to check how the upcoming features may work in different situations. Users can turn on an Edge flag on the browser to try an experimental or upcoming feature without opting for the beta or developer version of the browser. You can find all the flags here: edge://flags/.
That’s it!
