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Microsoft Edge Now De-Elevates Itself Automatically

The latest Canary build of Microsoft Edge Chromium introduces a new feature. Starting in build 78.0.253.0, the browser automatically de-elevates itself when started as Administrator.

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As you may remember, Edge comes with a warning when started as Administrator. A message will be displayed with the following text:

Administrator Mode Detected
Close Microsoft Edge and relaunch in non-administrator mode for best performance

Edge As Administrator Warning

The Close Microsoft Edge button can be used to instantly close the browser. Clicking on the tiny close (x) button on the right will dismiss the warning and will allow using Edge elevated.

Running Edge elevated creates extra security risk by allowing the browser to access system protected areas and files. As an extra protection, the browser detects elevated mode and re-launches itself under regular limited credentials. This change is enabled by default starting in build 78.0.253.0.

This behavior can be controlled with a hidden flag. The change was mentioned in the Roadmap for the browser, which, however, doesn't mention the existence of the flag option. Let's see how to enable or disable it.

To Stop Microsoft Edge Chromium from De-Elevating Itself,

  1. Update your Microsoft Edge to the latest version (see below). Build 78.0.253.0 and above is required.
  2. Type edge://flags#edge-de-elevate-on-launch into the address bar and hit the Enter key.Edge De Elevate On Launch
  3. Select Disable from the drop down menu next to the flag name.
  4. Restart the browser when prompted. Edge Relauch Browser Flags

You are done! The steps above will allow you to run Edge elevated again.

Edge Stop De Elevate On Launch

Don't forget to set the flag back to Default after you use this feature.

Microsoft Edge Download Page

As you may already know, Microsoft is currently using three channels to deliver updates to Edge Insiders. The Canary channel receives updates daily (except Saturday and Sunday), the Dev channel is getting updates weekly, and the Beta channel is updated every 6 weeks. The stable channel is also on its way to users.

Actual Microsoft Edge Versions

The actual pre-release versions of Edge Chromium at the moment of this writing are as follows:

I have covered many Edge tricks and features in the following post:

Hands-on with the new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge

Also, see the following updates.

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Author: Sergey Tkachenko

Sergey Tkachenko is a software developer who started Winaero back in 2011. On this blog, Sergey is writing about everything connected to Microsoft, Windows and popular software. Follow him on Telegram, Twitter, and YouTube.

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