How to block pop ups in Microsoft Edge

There’s nothing more annoying than an intrusive pop-up when you are engaged in activities on your PC. Notifications can also be pretty annoying, but there is nothing as irritating as multiple pop-ups that keep coming up.

These can spoil the experience of browsing using Microsoft Edge. Be cautious with such pop-ups because there are several malicious ones out there that can instantly install themselves on your device. Here’s how you can minimize pop-up notifications when using Microsoft Edge.

Device notifications customization

We previously mentioned that notifications can be irritating, especially if you need to focus on the current task. Before we move to Edge and pop-ups, let’s see how to eliminate notifications. Follow the steps below:

• Go to the Windows 10 settings which can be found in the start menu in the lower-left corner of the desktop interface. The settings can also be accessed by simply searching for “settings” in the search bar on the home screen.
• Click on the option for “system” settings, and click on the ‘notifications & actions’ option from the resulting menu. This will be on the left side panel as well.
• Select the “notifications and actions” panel, which will appear in a panel on the right side of the monitor.
• This will automatically launch the action center main panel where notification preferences are configured.
• The notifications in this particular category are mainly based on the quick actions available in the action center. You can switch off the notifications across the whole category for an uninterrupted experience.

Blocking pop-up windows on Edge

By default, the browser will block most unwarranted pop-ups. This is pretty convenient; however, a considerable amount will still find a way past this feature since it selectively allows some ‘useful’ pop-ups past its firewalls. Let’s see how to stop that.

• Open the Microsoft Edge browser as normal.
• Find the Edge “Settings and more” section in the top right corner of the welcome page and click it for more options. The “Settings and more” button is just three stacked dots.
• This button will reveal a list of options. Select the settings that will launch a separate page or shift the current depending on the local settings.
• Now click Settings
• At the very bottom of the list, there’s an option for “Cookies and site permissions.” Click on that option for more details.
• You will find the Pop-ups and redirects option under the All permissions option.
• Find an option designated for pop-up blocking. Toggle the switch to turn this option on.

Once done, the browser will enter into a more intense pop-up blocking mode, which is rarely breached by any other window. The selection can be reversed. Just repeat the steps listed above and toggle the block feature off.

Pop-up cautionary features

It’s easy to assume that pop-ups are just a nuisance when they’re unwarranted. However, they can be helpful depending on user activity. Blocking them on Microsoft Edge can affect some features of the browser, for instance:

• The PayPal login page usually appears as a pop-up when making online purchases on e-stores. Restricting pop-ups will, therefore, disable this feature and prevent purchases from going through. Of course, the block feature can be deactivated during such instances.
• Pop-ups can also be convenient when the user prefers to open new page views while retaining the current one. The default setting usually loads the selected page by replacing the current one.