Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Microsoft added a feature to its Edge browser that allows users to follow content creators.
- The feature appears to be malfunctioning, and the latest Edge update has the feature on by default.
- Now Edge is sending the URLs from every website you visit to Bing API servers.
Just as Microsoft Edge was starting to attract new users with its Bing AI integration, it may lose some of its momentum. The reason why is that the browser is experiencing an issue that’s affecting the privacy of its users.
The Microsoft Edge browser appears to be sending the full URLs of every website you visit to Bing API servers, according to The Verge. Redditors first discovered the problem last week. It seems the issue stems from a feature that allows users to follow content creators.
Microsoft first introduced the “follow creators” feature back in January 2022. However, the latest update to Microsoft Edge has caused the feature to stop working properly. Follow creators has also been enabled by default due to the update.
One of the first to spot the bug was Reddit user hackermchackface:
What is causing Edge to leak all visited URLs following latest update? API is: bingapis.com/api/v7/followweb/isfollowable ?
GET request includes full url of every page navigate to.
Searching for References to this url give very few results, no documentation on this feature at all. Json response shows type as “FollowableStatus” which yields zero Google results, which is rare.
It appears that the intent of the feature is to notify Bing whenever you’re on a particular site. But the malfunction is causing the feature to send every domain you visit to Bing.
Microsoft is reportedly aware of the issue. Director of Communications at Microsoft Caitlin Roulston provided this statement to The Verge:
We’re aware of 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’s recommended that you go into settings and disable the follow creators feature.