How to Enable or Disable Collections in Microsoft Edge on Windows 11

Microsoft Edge Collections is a feature that allows users to gather web pages, images, notes, and other types of content into organized sets. Whether for work, research, shopping, or leisure, they are valuable and helpful in streamlining workflows. However, in enterprise and education environments, it may be necessary to restrict it to enforce standardized workflows and maintain a consistent browser configuration.

Managing Collections in Microsoft Edge can make things a lot more organized, whether you’re tweaking settings on one PC or rolling them out across a whole network. Depending on what your organization needs, you’ve got options: Edge’s built-in settings, Registry Editor, Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Group Policy can all get the job done.

Methods to enable or disable Microsoft Edge Collections

📌 Prerequisites:

• Your system needs to run Windows 11.
• MS Edge version 83 or later is required to support the Collections feature and the associated policy controls.
• You need administrator access to modify system-level settings via the Registry Editor, Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Group Policy.

📌 Recommended deployment strategies:

Method 1: Using Microsoft Edge Settings to enable or disable Collections

📌 Use Cases:

• Ideal for personal devices or environments without centralized management.
• Useful for testing how Collections behaves before pushing broader changes via script or policy.
• This lets users remove the Collections button from the toolbar on their own.

📌 Prerequisite:

• MS Edge version 83 or later is required since Collections may not be available in earlier versions.

Follow these steps to enable Collections via Edge Settings:

1. Start by opening Microsoft Edge.
2. Copy and paste edge://settings/appearance/toolbar to the address bar and press Enter.
3. Scroll down and locate the Collections button.
4. Toggle it on or off:
   • Toggling it On will enable the Collections button on the toolbar.
   • Toggling it Off will hide the Collections feature.

💡 Notes:

• This setting only applies to one user. A computer with multiple users will have to perform this step on each user’s profile to disable Edge Collections.
• Disabling the button won’t delete existing Collections.

Method 2: How to utilize the Registry Editor to enable or disable Edge Collections

📌 Use Cases:

• IT admins and power users can use this for managed or shared environments where Edge behavior needs to be enforced.
• This method is suitable if you’re planning to automate configuration using scripts.
• This will enable admins to target both user profiles and entire systems, depending on the key used.

📌 Prerequisites:

• This method requires administrator privileges to modify the system or user policies.
• Your systems should be running Microsoft Edge version 83 or later.

To tweak the Collections setting via the Registry Editor, follow these steps:

1. Open the Registry Editor. Use the Win + R shortcut, type regedit, and press Enter.
2. Next, navigate to one of these locations, depending on your deployment target.
   • For the current user only, go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge
   • For all the users in the system, head to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge
3. You can create the Edge key if it does not exist yet. Here’s how:
   • Right-click the Microsoft folder.
   • Select New > Key.
   • Name it Edge.
4. In the right-hand pane, right-click and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. 
5. Name the new value: CollectionsEnabled.
6. Double-click the value and set the Value data (Decimal).
   • 1 = This will enable Collections
   • 0 = This will disable Collections.
7. Click OK, then close the Registry Editor and restart Microsoft Edge.

💡 Note: Using the HKLM (local machine) path will override user attempts to tweak the setting in Edge. If you only want to apply the setting to a specific profile, make tweaks in HKCU.

Method 3: How to use the Command Prompt to enable or disable Collections in Microsoft Edge

📌 Use Cases:

• Best for IT admins who use scripts to deploy browser policies.
• You can use this when preparing computers for onboarding or workstation prep.
• Good fit for RMM and automation platforms that support command-line execution.

📌 Prerequisites:

• This requires administrator privileges when configuring system-wide settings (HKLM).
• The registry key for Edge policies must be present (see Method 2).

Run these commands in the Command Prompt (Administrator) to apply the desired setting:

1. To disable Collections for the current user:
   

   reg add “HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge” /v CollectionsEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

   The HKCU (HKEY_CURRENT_USER) is useful when individual users want to adjust Collections without impacting other users’ preferences.

2. To enable Collections in Edge for all users (system-wide), run this command:
   

   reg add “HKLM\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge” /v CollectionsEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

After applying the registry change, restart Microsoft Edge and check whether the Collections button appears or is hidden.

The HKLM (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE) method is designed for administrators who need to enforce a setting system-wide for all users on a device.

💡 Notes:

• This method edits the registry like in Method 2.
• The system-wide command (#2) will override the in-browser toggle. The HKCU command (#1) will only apply to the signed-in user.

Method 4: Enabling or disabling Microsoft Edge Collections using PowerShell

📌 Use Cases:

• IT admins can use this method to implement automated deployments across a fleet of endpoints.
• This method is useful for environments that utilize scripts deployed via RMM tools.
• Best for tweaking settings quickly without having to navigate the interface.

📌 Prerequisites:

• You will be required to have administrator privileges to edit system-wide settings (HKLM).
• The system should be running MS Edge version 83 or newer.

Run these commands in PowerShell (Administrator) depending on your preferred configurations:

1. To disable Collections for the current user (HKCU):
   

   New-Item -Path “HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge” -Force Set-ItemProperty -Path “HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge” -Name “CollectionsEnabled” -Value 0 -Type DWord

2. To enable Collections system-wide (HKLM):
   

   New-Item -Path “HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge” -Force Set-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge” -Name “CollectionsEnabled” -Value 1 -Type DWord

After executing the commands, restart Microsoft Edge to apply the changes.

💡 Note: If HKLM is configured, it overrides any HKCU setting. In practice, this means the machine-wide setting (HKLM) takes priority, and the user-level configuration (HKCU) will not be applied. To confirm which policy value is active, you can check directly in Microsoft Edge by navigating to edge://policy/.

Method 5: Using Group Policy Preferences to tweak Microsoft Edge Collections settings

📌 Use Case:

• This method is well-suited for enterprise deployments where policy enforcement has to be applied on a large scale.

📌 Prerequisites:

• A Windows Server with the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) must be installed.
• You need to have admin or GPO editing permissions.
• Target machines have to be part of an Active Directory domain.

Here’s how to tweak Edge Collections using Group Policy Preferences:

1. Open the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC).
2. Proceed to the following path based on your target:
   • For a specific user profile: User Configuration > Preferences > Windows Settings > Registry
   • For all users in the system: Computer Configuration > Preferences > Windows Settings > Registry
3. In the right-hand pane, right-click and select New > Registry Item.
4. Configure the registry item as follows:
   1. Action: Update
   2. Hive:
      • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE for system-wide (all users) 
      • HKEY_CURRENT_USER for individual users
   3. Key path: Software\Policies\Microsoft\Edge
   4. Value Name: CollectionsEnabled
   5. Value Type: REG_DWORD.
   6. Value Data:
      • 0 = Disable Collections
      • 1 = Enable Collections
5. Click OK to save the registry item
6. Link the GPO to the appropriate Organizational Unit (OU).
7. Force a group policy update to apply the changes. Run this code via the Command Prompt on the target machine: gpupdate /force.

⚠️ Things to look out for

Additional considerations when configuring Microsoft Edge Collections

Changes apply on Edge restart

Users must restart Microsoft Edge after configuring the Collections setting via Registry, Command Prompt, PowerShell, or Group Policy Preferences.

HKCU vs HKLM: what’s the difference?

Registry changes under HKEY_CURRENT_USER only apply to the current user. Meanwhile, those made under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE will affect all users on the device and override user-level settings.

Use Group Policy Preferences if no ADMX template is available

Microsoft does not provide a native ADMX policy for Collections. To enforce this setting through Group Policy, you must use Registry-based Group Policy Preferences.

New Edge updates may change Collections’ behavior

Future Windows or Edge updates may rename, deprecate, or modify this policy’s behavior. Remember to reverify the registry keys and supported settings after major version updates.

Disabling Collections won’t delete user data

When Collections is disabled, the button is removed, and users won’t be able to access it. However, existing Collections remain stored and will be accessible again if the feature is re-enabled later.

Keep browser clean and consistent with Microsoft Edge Collections

Managing the Collections feature in Microsoft Edge lets organizations maintain a consistent browser environment and enforce compliance policies. Controlling this feature ensures Edge behaves according to your organization’s standards.

Depending on the scale and scope, you can accomplish this in many ways. For example, Edge Settings allow quick individual changes, the Registry for manual tweaks, and Command Prompt and PowerShell for scripting and massive deployments. These methods give you control over Collections regardless of the scope of your environment.

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