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Microsoft released a new stable version of its Edge web browser to the public on March 4, 2021. Microsoft Edge 89.0.774.45 is a security and feature update that is available for all supported platforms.

The new version of Microsoft Edge patches several security issues, including a security vulnerability in Chromium, the core that Edge is based on, that is exploited in the wild according to the Chromium team.

According to Microsoft's security database, CV3-2021-21166 refers to an Object lifecycle issue in audio. The rest of the security updates is referenced on this page by Microsoft.

Microsoft Edge supports automatic updates, and the browser should be updated to version 89 automatically on most systems. Edge users may load edge://settings/help in the address bar to check the current version. The browser will run a check for updates when the page is loaded and will download and install updates that it discovers during the check.

Microsoft Edge 89: features

Microsoft lists six new features that it added or improved in Edge 89. Notable is the introduction of the Sleeping Tabs feature; its main purpose is to improve the performance of the web browser by putting inactive tabs to sleep; this has a positive effect on the browser's memory use and CPU utilization according to Microsoft.

We reviewed Sleeping Tabs back when it was introduced in development builds of  Microsoft Edge 87.

Tip: check out our overview of tab sleeping / freezing features in web browsers.

Another useful feature is the ability to reset sync data in the cloud manually, a process that required contacting Microsoft support previously.

All that is required now is to open Settings > Sync, or load edge://settings/profiles/sync directly, and activate the "reset sync" button on the page to do so.

The remaining improvements unlock the option to autofill the date of birth field, improve text selection when viewing PDF documents in Microsoft Edge, add more lockdown options to kiosk mode, and enable the edge://compat page for managing the Enterprise Mode Site List.

Microsoft's release notes list three issues that have been fixed in Edge 89:
  • A right-click on Edge in the Start Menu will show the unpin from taskbar option.
  • Start layouts with taskbar configurations won't have a second Edge placed on the taskbar anymore.
  • Users with Windows Roaming Profiles won't see a blank icon on the taskbar anymore instead of the Edge icon.
Several policies have been updated or made obsolete. Microsoft added seven new policies in Edge 89:
  • BrowsingDataLifetime - Browsing Data Lifetime Settings
  • MAMEnabled - Mobile App Management Enabled
  • DefinePreferredLanguages - Define an ordered list of preferred languages that websites should display in if the site supports the language
  • ShowRecommendationsEnabled - Allow recommendations and promotional notifications from Edge
  • PrintingAllowedBackgroundGraphicsModes - Restrict background graphics printing mode
  • PrintingBackgroundGraphicsDefault - Default background graphics printing mode
  • SmartActionsBlockList - Block smart actions for a list of services
Now You: have you used Edge recently? What is your take on the browser's development since its initial release?
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