If Microsoft Edge is your web browser of choice, then you’ve the option to create a profile. Doing so not only gives you additional features, but it can also synchronise your web data – such as favourites and history – across all your devices.
While it’s possible to use Edge without a profile, the extra features may make your web life a little easier. Let’s look at what it has to offer and how to get started.
What are the advantages?
The major reason to have a profile in Edge is to sync your favourites and web history across your devices.
It makes browsing more enjoyable as you’ll have your essential websites available to you anywhere, whether on your phone, tablet or PC. You can also lookup something on one device and re-find the information later on another.
The other advantage of syncing is that it offers a backup of your browsing data. For example, if your phone gets broken or lost, you can re-sign into Edge on a new phone, and all your favourites and history will re-appear as if by magic.
Where do I sign?
As you might expect, you create your Edge profile with a Microsoft account. If you use Windows 10 or other Microsoft services, such as Office 365 or OneDrive, it’s likely you already have an account. If you don’t, click here to learn how to create one.
To sign into a profile, you first need to open Microsoft Edge and click on the Profile icon on the toolbar’s top right. From the menu that appears, click the Sign in Box.
You may already have signed in with a Microsoft account elsewhere on the device. If that’s the case, Microsoft will suggest you use it under the heading Use this account. Otherwise, if you’ve created a new account or want to use a different one, click Microsoft account or Work or school account under Use a different account.
Once you’ve made your choice, click Continue.
If you’ve selected to sign in with a different – or new – Microsoft account, you’ll see the following window. All you need to do is enter your details.
It’s also possible to create a new account at this stage by clicking on the No Account? Create One! link. If you need further help in creating an account, check out my article here.
Once you’re signed in, you can sync your data by clicking the Sync button.
You can also choose what you want to sync by clicking Customise. Doing so will open a settings page in Edge, and you can toggle the switches on or off for the different options.
You’ve now successfully signed in to your profile! Do this in Microsoft Edge on all your devices to enjoy syncing and backup of your web data.
Can I have more than one profile?
One of the other advantages of profiles in Microsoft Edge is that you can have more than one. Having multiple profiles allows you to separate your work favourites from your personal ones. It also means other family members can use Edge and keep their browsing habits away from yours.
You can add another profile by clicking on the Profile icon on the toolbar’s top right, and from the menu that appears, clicking Add profile.
An Add a Profile Window will appear. Click on Add.
In the following windows, click Sign in to sync data. You can then add a Microsoft account, or create a new one using the same steps as signing in with your original profile.
After signing in, the next step is to sync your browser data. To do this, select the toggle switch to Yes and then click Confirm. If you don’t want to sync, leave the switch as No.
Microsoft will then ask if it can use your browsing history. Again, you can choose by selecting the toggle switch and then click Confirm.
Once you’ve created the additional profile, you can swap between them by clicking on the Profile icon and selecting the one you want to use.
Conclusion
Using profiles in Microsoft Edge is a great way to back up your browser information and make it available across all your devices, so it’s worth the time to set up.
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