Key Points
- Microsoft Edge profiles keep browsing data separate for different users or accounts.
- Administrators can control the “Add profile” option through the Windows Registry.
- PowerShell provides another way to enable or disable Edge profile creation.
- Additional Edge policies and kiosk settings can provide greater control over profile use.
MS Edge profiles provide a powerful way to compartmentalize browsing activity. Each profile holds separate bookmarks, passwords, browsing history, and extensions, so users can easily switch between and among their Microsoft Edge profiles. While this is beneficial for individual users juggling personal and work accounts, unrestricted profile creation can complicate security and policy enforcement in shared or managed environments, particularly when a security vulnerability or misconfiguration affects an unmanaged browsing profile.
By default, users can freely add new profiles, but administrators in enterprise, educational, or other managed environments may choose to restrict this feature for security or IT compliance purposes.
In this guide, we walk you through how to enable or disable the “Add profile” option in Microsoft Edge. For a visual version of this guide, watch How to Enable or Disable “Add Profile” in Microsoft Edge.
Configuring Microsoft Edge profiles
Before proceeding, ensure the following requirements are met:
- Microsoft Edge must already be installed on the system.
- You must have administrative privileges on the device.
- Registry Editor can be used on all Windows 11 editions, including Home.
Method 1: Using Registry Editor
This method is useful when Group Policy is unavailable or when you want to configure the policy directly through the Windows registry.
- Press Windows key + R, type regedit, and press Enter. If prompted by User Account Control (UAC), select Yes.
- Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge
- (Optional) If the Edge key does not exist, right-click the Microsoft key, select New > Key, and name the new key Edge.
- Within the Edge key, create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value named BrowserAddProfileEnabled.
- Set its value:
- 0: Prevents users from adding new profiles through the Microsoft Edge interface
- 1: Allows users to add new profiles
- Close and reopen Microsoft Edge to apply the change. To verify that the policy is active, enter edge://policy in the Edge address bar and check for BrowserAddProfileEnabled.
Method 2: Using PowerShell
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- Open PowerShell as an administrator.
- Execute these commands:
To disable the “Add profile” option
New-Item -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge” -Force
New-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge” `
-Name “BrowserAddProfileEnabled” -PropertyType DWord -Value 0 -Force
To re-enable it
New-Item -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge” -Force
New-ItemProperty -Path “HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge” `
-Name “BrowserAddProfileEnabled” -PropertyType DWord -Value 1 -Force
Additional considerations when modifying MS Edge profiles
- Edge profiles vs. Windows accounts: Note that disabling profile creation in Edge does not prevent users from signing in to Windows with different user accounts. If you want to learn how to delete user profiles in Windows 11 and Windows 10, you can watch this video.
- Sign-in permissions: Disabling profile creation does not by itself fully restrict profile sign-in or use. Administrators can use policies such as BrowserSignin and RestrictSigninToPattern for additional profile restrictions.
- Kiosk mode: Microsoft Edge kiosk mode runs in an InPrivate session with a restricted browser interface, so profile management works differently from a standard Edge session.
- Policy enforcement scope: Disabling BrowserAddProfileEnabled prevents users from creating profiles through the Microsoft Edge UI, including the profile menu and Settings page.
Improve security in your IT enterprise by configuring MS Edge profiles
Managing MS Edge profiles is essential for IT administrators who support shared or policy-restricted environments. Disabling the “Add profile” feature can help administrators maintain greater control over browser profiles and support consistent profile policies across managed endpoints.
