Block or Allow Extensions in Microsoft Edge (Policies, Home & Family)

To stop anyone installing extensions in Microsoft Edge, set the ExtensionInstallBlocklist policy to *, which blocks every extension, then list the ones you allow in ExtensionInstallAllowlist. On Windows 11 Pro, set both in Group Policy under Administrative Templates > Microsoft Edge > Extensions after adding Edge's policy templates. On Home, add the same values in the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge. Restart Edge and open edge://policy to confirm. For children, Kids Mode runs Edge without extensions, and a Family Safety child account adds web filtering. Expect Edge to show "Your browser is managed by your organization" once any policy is set. That message is normal.

Ethan's sister found three extensions in the family's Edge that nobody remembered installing: a "PDF converter", a coupon finder and a "video downloader". Between them they had permission to read every page the family visited, and the coupon finder was quietly swapping affiliate links. Jake removed them, then made sure it could not happen again: a blocklist for everything, an allowlist for the password manager and ad blocker the family actually wanted, and Kids Mode for the youngest. It took fifteen minutes, and the extensions page has stayed exactly as she left it since. This page shows the same steps, from a quick tidy-up to a full lockdown.

The same policies, with Chrome's names and registry paths, work for Google Chrome too; there is a section for Chrome below.

Why extensions are worth controlling

Extensions are small programs that run inside the browser. Good ones block ads, manage passwords or check grammar. But an extension that can "read and change all your data on all websites" can see every page you open, including email and banking, and can change what you see. Popular extensions have been sold to new owners who added tracking or ads, and fake extensions imitating well-known tools appear in stores regularly before they are removed.

• Data access: many extensions request access to every site, far more than they need.
• Ownership changes: a trusted extension can change hands and behavior through an automatic update.
• Affiliate hijacking: coupon and shopping extensions sometimes replace links to earn commission.
• Performance: every extension runs in the background and uses memory.
• Bundled installs: some desktop programs install browser extensions without asking clearly.

On a shared family PC or a small office PC, controlling extensions is one of the most effective privacy steps you can take, and it costs nothing.

Built-in Edge features that replace common extensions

Many extensions people install duplicate features Edge already has. Before allowing an extension, check whether Edge can do the job itself:

• PDF viewing and annotation: Edge opens and marks up PDFs without any extension.
• Translation: Edge offers to translate pages in other languages automatically.
• Screenshots: Web capture, with Ctrl + Shift + S, captures an area or a full page.
• Reading mode: Immersive Reader, with F9, strips clutter from articles.
• Read aloud: Ctrl + Shift + U reads the page out loud.
• Password management: Edge saves and generates passwords and warns about leaked ones.
• Tab management: vertical tabs, tab groups and sleeping tabs are built in.

Every built-in feature is one less extension that can read your pages. Ethan's sister's "PDF converter" extension did nothing Edge could not already do.

Edge's built-in features update with the browser itself and are covered by the same security reviews, which is another reason to prefer them over a third-party extension doing the same job.

Which method fits your situation

Start at the top and move down only if you need more control. Most homes are well served by the registry or Group Policy pair of blocklist and allowlist.

Whatever you choose, pair it with standard Windows accounts for everyone except the person who maintains the PC. Policies stored in the registry are only as strong as the accounts that can edit it, and an administrator account can remove any of them in seconds.

Review and remove extensions first

1. Open Edge and type edge://extensions in the address bar, or select the Extensions puzzle-piece button and choose Manage extensions.
2. Read each extension's name and description. If you do not recognize it, select Details to see who made it and what it can access.
3. Switch off any extension you are unsure about, or select Remove to delete it.
4. For extensions you keep, open Details and set Site access to On click or On specific sites where possible, instead of all sites.
5. Check each Edge profile, because extensions are installed per profile.

If an extension keeps coming back after removal, a program on the PC is reinstalling it, or a policy is forcing it. The section on forced extensions explains how to tell which. Our guide to adding and managing Edge extensions covers installing the ones you do want safely.

Removing an extension also deletes the data it stored in the browser, such as its settings. If you use sync, removing it on one device removes it on all of them, which is usually exactly what you want for an unwanted extension.

How to spot a risky extension

• Permissions far beyond its job: a calculator that wants to read all sites is a warning sign.
• Few or fake-looking reviews, or a name copying a famous extension with a small spelling change.
• An unknown developer with no website or support contact.
• Recent ownership change mentioned in reviews, often followed by complaints about new ads.
• Promises that sound too good: free downloads of paid videos, unlimited coupons or "PC speedups".
• No updates for years, which may mean abandonment or incompatibility.

When in doubt, leave it out. Most tasks people install extensions for, such as PDF viewing, translation, screenshots and reading mode, are now built into Edge itself.

What extension permissions mean

When you install an extension, Edge lists what it can do. The common permissions, in plain words:

• Read and change all your data on all websites: it can see and alter every page, including what you type. The most powerful and most abused permission.
• Read and change your data on specific sites: the same, limited to the sites named.
• Read your browsing history: it sees every address you visit, even without changing pages.
• Manage your downloads: it can start, see and open downloads.
• Communicate with cooperating native applications: it can talk to a program installed on Windows, as password managers do.
• Read and modify data you copy and paste: clipboard access.

Compare the permissions with what the extension claims to do. A password manager legitimately needs all sites and a native application; a wallpaper extension does not need your history. If the permissions change after an update, Edge disables the extension until you approve them, which is a good moment to reconsider it.

Signs a bad extension is already installed

Unwanted extensions often reveal themselves through changes to the browser: a new default search engine or home page, a different new tab page, extra ads on sites that never had them, pop-ups, links that redirect through strange addresses, or the browser feeling slower. If you notice any of these, review edge://extensions first. Then check your search engine setting; our guide to changing Edge's default search engine shows where it is and how to put it back. If settings keep changing back, a program or policy is forcing them, and the forced-extension steps on this page apply.

If you find a hijacked search engine on one profile, check the others too; the same program often changes every profile at once, and sometimes Chrome as well as Edge.

Built-in Edge switches (no policies needed)

Before using policies, two settings on the edge://extensions page reduce risk:

• Allow extensions from other stores: when off, Edge installs extensions only from the Microsoft Edge Add-ons store. Turn it off unless you specifically need an extension from the Chrome Web Store.
• Developer mode: when on, anyone can load unpacked extensions from a folder. Keep it off unless you develop extensions.

These switches are easy for anyone using the PC to turn back on, so they are a tidy-up, not a lock. For a real lock, use the policies below, which ordinary users cannot change.

It is also worth checking Settings > Privacy, search, and services while you are tidying up: turning on SmartScreen and blocking potentially unwanted apps catches many of the downloads that bring unwanted extensions with them.

Extensions and sync across devices

When you sign in to Edge with a Microsoft account and turn on sync, extensions sync between your devices by default. Removing an extension on one PC removes it on the others, and installing one adds it everywhere. That is convenient for your own devices but means a bad extension installed on one PC spreads to the rest. To control it, open Settings > Profiles > Sync and switch Extensions off, or keep it on and review extensions on any one device.

Policies set on a PC apply regardless of sync: a blocked extension stays blocked on that PC even if it syncs from another device.

Work and personal profiles in Edge keep separate extension lists, and a work profile signed in with an organization account may receive the organization's extension policies even on a home PC. Keep personal extensions in the personal profile, and check both profiles when reviewing.

Extensions in InPrivate windows

By default, extensions do not run in InPrivate windows. You can allow one by opening its Details on edge://extensions and checking Allow in InPrivate. Be selective: an extension allowed in InPrivate can see the browsing you meant to keep private. A password manager may be worth allowing; most others are not. Policies apply to InPrivate too, so a blocked extension stays blocked there.

Guest browsing, opened from the profile menu, also runs without extensions, which makes it a handy way to check whether an extension is causing a problem: if a site works in a guest window but not in your profile, an extension is the likely cause.

How Edge extension policies work

Microsoft Edge reads policies set by Group Policy, the registry or management tools such as Intune. Policies override user settings and cannot be changed from inside the browser. The extension policies that matter:

The pattern almost everyone needs is the first two: block everything with *, then allow a short list by ID. Already-installed extensions that are not on the allowlist are disabled when the blocklist applies.

Policies take effect when Edge starts. After any change, close every Edge window and check that no Edge processes remain in Task Manager, since Edge can keep running in the background for features such as startup boost.

Find an extension's ID

Every extension has a 32-letter ID. To find it, open edge://extensions, select Details under the extension, and look for the ID near the bottom, or look at the end of the extension's address in the Edge Add-ons store, which contains the same ID. Copy it exactly; one wrong letter means the allowlist will not match. Extensions from the Chrome Web Store have their own IDs from that store, which work in the same way.

Make a short list, with each ID and the extension's name, before you start. Ethan's sister's list had two entries: the family password manager and an ad blocker.

Store the list somewhere outside the PC, such as a note in your password manager, so you can rebuild the allowlist quickly after a reset or on a new computer.

Checking an extension in the store before allowing it

Before adding an ID to the allowlist, open the extension's page in the Edge Add-ons store or the Chrome Web Store. Check the developer's name and website, the number of users, the date of the last update and recent reviews, looking especially for complaints about new ads or tracking after an update. Read the privacy section, which states what data the extension collects. An extension with millions of users, regular updates and a known developer is a reasonable choice; one with a few hundred users and a copied name is not. Five minutes of checking now saves an incident later.

Remember that a good reputation today does not guarantee tomorrow: popular extensions are sometimes sold, and the new owner pushes an update. That is why the monthly check below matters even for extensions you allowed carefully.

Set the policies with Group Policy (Pro and above)

1. Download the Microsoft Edge policy templates from Microsoft's Edge for Business download page, and extract the files.
2. Copy msedge.admx to C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions, and msedge.adml from your language folder, such as en-US, to the matching language folder there.
3. Press Windows + R, type gpedit.msc and press Enter.
4. Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Microsoft Edge > Extensions.
5. Open Control which extensions cannot be installed, choose Enabled, select Show, and add *.
6. Open Allow specific extensions to be installed, choose Enabled, select Show, and add each allowed ID on its own line.
7. Optionally enable Blocks external extensions from being installed.
8. Close Edge completely and reopen it, then check edge://policy.

Computer Configuration applies to every user on the PC. User Configuration has the same settings if you want them only for certain users, though on a single home PC the computer-wide setting is simpler.

If the Microsoft Edge folder does not appear in Group Policy after copying the templates, check that both the .admx and .adml files were copied, and that the .adml file is in the language folder matching your Windows display language. Closing and reopening the Group Policy Editor reloads the templates.

Set the policies in the registry (Windows Home)

Windows 11 Home has no Group Policy Editor, but Edge reads the same policies from the registry. Back up the registry first, then:

1. Press Windows + R, type regedit and press Enter.
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft. If there is no Edge key, right-click Microsoft, choose New > Key and name it Edge.
3. Under Edge, create a key named ExtensionInstallBlocklist.
4. Inside it, create a String Value named 1 with the data *.
5. Under Edge, create a key named ExtensionInstallAllowlist.
6. Inside it, create String Values named 1, 2 and so on, each holding one extension ID.
7. Close Edge completely, reopen it, and check edge://policy.

Some policies, such as force-installing extensions from outside the store, apply only on PCs managed by an organization; the blocklist and allowlist work on ordinary home PCs. To undo everything, delete the keys you created and restart Edge.

Computer-wide or per-user policies

Policies under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE apply to everyone who uses the PC, which is usually what you want on a family computer. Edge also reads policies from HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge, which apply only to the signed-in Windows user. Per-user policies let you lock down a child's Windows account while leaving your own unrestricted, but they are easier for a determined user with an administrator account to change. Use the machine-wide location unless you have a reason to separate users, and give children standard accounts so they cannot edit either location.

Edge applies the machine-wide policy when both locations set the same policy, so a per-user setting cannot loosen a machine-wide block.

Block only specific extensions

If you do not want to block everything, put individual extension IDs in ExtensionInstallBlocklist instead of *. Edge then blocks only those, and anything else can still be installed. This suits a PC where you trust the users but want to ban particular extensions, such as a known adware tool or a video downloader that breaks school rules. The downside is that new risky extensions appear constantly, so a short allowlist is usually easier to maintain than a long blocklist.

A blocklist of specific IDs also works well alongside the allowlist approach in offices: block everything by default, allow approved tools, and keep a note of extensions that were requested and refused, with the reason, so the same requests can be answered quickly.

Check that the policies applied

Open edge://policy. Each policy Edge has read is listed with its value and a status. OK means it applied; an error means a problem such as a wrong value type. Select Reload policies after changes. Then open edge://extensions: blocked extensions show as disabled by your administrator, and the Add-ons store shows that installation is blocked for anything not allowed.

Edge also shows "Your browser is managed by your organization" in its menu and settings once any policy is set. On a home PC where you set the policies yourself, that message is expected. If you see it without having set anything, something else set a policy; our guide to "Managed by your organization" explains how to find and remove unexpected policies.

Users who try to install a blocked extension from the store see a message that the extension is blocked by their administrator, and the Get button does nothing. Telling family members in advance what that message means saves a few confused questions later.

On a PC with several Windows users, sign in as each one once and open Edge to confirm the policies show there too.

Letting someone install one extension

When a family member needs a new extension, add its ID to the allowlist rather than turning the blocklist off. In the registry, add a new numbered string value under ExtensionInstallAllowlist; in Group Policy, add a line to Allow specific extensions to be installed. Restart Edge, and they can install it from the store as normal. If it turns out to be unnecessary, remove the ID and Edge disables the extension again at the next restart.

Keep a note of each allowed ID and why it was allowed, so the list stays understandable a year later.

For a one-off task, such as a single online exam that needs a proctoring extension, allow it for the day, then remove the ID afterwards. Edge disables the extension at the next restart, and the allowlist stays as short as it was before.

If a policy breaks something

The most common surprise after a blocklist is that a tool someone relied on stops working, such as a school's required extension or a work meeting add-in. Check edge://extensions for disabled entries and add the needed IDs to the allowlist. If Edge itself behaves oddly after a policy change, open edge://policy to look for errors, remove the most recent change, and restart Edge. As a last resort, delete the whole HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge key you created, which returns Edge to unmanaged behavior.

Keep a copy of the registry keys you add, exported with File > Export in Registry Editor, so you can restore the exact setup after troubleshooting.

Children: Kids Mode and Family Safety

For young children, Kids Mode in Edge is simpler than policies. Select your profile picture in Edge and choose Browse in Kids Mode, pick the age range, and Edge opens a full-screen, child-friendly browser with strict filtering, SafeSearch and no access to extensions. Leaving Kids Mode requires the device password, so children cannot switch back on their own.

For older children with their own Windows accounts, a Family Safety child account adds web and search filtering in Edge, activity reports and the option to block other browsers so Edge's filtering cannot be bypassed. Combine that with the extension blocklist on the PC, and children cannot add extensions that might undo the filters. Our guide to Family Safety and screen time covers setting up the child account.

Explaining the rules to the family

Locks work better when people understand them. Tell family members that extensions can read everything they do in the browser, that the PC now allows only a short list, and how to ask for something new. Most requests turn out to be for something Edge already does, such as saving a PDF or taking a screenshot, and showing the built-in feature solves the problem on the spot. Teenagers in particular respond better to "here is why" than to a silent block.

Agree on a simple way to ask, such as a message to whoever manages the PC with the extension's name and why it is needed, so requests do not turn into workarounds.

Password managers and ad blockers on the allowlist

Two kinds of extension earn a place on most allowlists. A password manager extension, from a well-known provider or the one built into your security suite, fills strong unique passwords and refuses to fill them on lookalike phishing sites, which protects every account in the family. A reputable ad blocker reduces malicious ads, a common route for scams and drive-by downloads, though Edge's strict tracking prevention covers part of the same ground; our guide to tracking prevention in Edge explains the levels.

Choose one of each, from developers with a long public track record, and resist adding more. If your family already uses Edge's own password manager, you may need only the ad blocker, or nothing at all.

Extensions you cannot remove

If an extension shows a building icon or "Installed by your administrator" and has no Remove button, it was forced by policy. On a work PC, that is your IT team's choice. On a home PC, it may have been set by a program you installed, sometimes unwanted software that uses policies to protect its extension. Open edge://policy and look for ExtensionInstallForcelist or ExtensionSettings. Removing that policy from the registry or Group Policy, then restarting Edge, lets you remove the extension.

After removing an unwanted forced extension, run a full Microsoft Defender scan, uninstall any recently installed program you do not recognize, and consider resetting Edge; our guide to resetting Microsoft Edge walks through it.

A forced extension that you did not choose, on a PC no organization manages, should be treated as a sign of unwanted software. Removing the policy is only half the fix; finding and uninstalling the program that set it is the other half, or the policy will simply be recreated.

How Jake locked down the family PC

1. Removed the three unknown extensions from every Edge profile.
2. Ran a Microsoft Defender full scan to catch any program that had installed them.
3. Turned off Allow extensions from other stores and Developer mode.
4. Added ExtensionInstallBlocklist with * and an allowlist with two IDs in the registry.
5. Applied the same policies to Chrome, which was also installed.
6. Set up Kids Mode for the youngest child and Family Safety for the teenagers.
7. Made every account except Ethan's sister's a standard account.

Each step closes a different gap; together they mean an extension can reach the family's browsers only if she adds it to the list herself.

The whole setup took about fifteen minutes, most of it spent checking which extensions the family actually used.

The same controls in Google Chrome

Chrome uses identical policy names. In Group Policy, add Chrome's policy templates from Google's Chrome Enterprise download, then use Administrative Templates > Google > Google Chrome > Extensions. In the registry, use HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome with the same ExtensionInstallBlocklist and ExtensionInstallAllowlist keys and numbered string values. Check them at chrome://policy.

If both browsers are installed, set the policies for both, or block the one you do not use; a child or colleague who cannot add extensions in Edge may simply switch to Chrome. Our guide to Chrome extensions missing or disabled explains what users see when a Chrome policy disables an extension.

Chrome also has its own Safety Check in Settings, which flags extensions removed from the Chrome Web Store for policy violations or malware; run it after setting the policies to catch anything already installed.

Firefox: blocking add-ons

Firefox supports enterprise policies too. On Windows, you can add Mozilla's Group Policy templates, or create a policies.json file in a folder named distribution inside Firefox's installation folder. Firefox's ExtensionSettings policy works much like Edge's: a default entry with an installation mode of blocked, and entries for allowed add-ons by their add-on ID. Check the result at about:policies. If Firefox is installed on a locked-down PC and you do not want to manage it, uninstalling it is often simpler.

Firefox's add-on IDs look different from Edge's, often an email-like string or a code in curly braces; find them at about:support under Add-ons, or in the add-on's page on Mozilla's site.

Limit what allowed extensions can see

Even trusted extensions rarely need access to every site. In edge://extensions, open an extension's Details and set Site access:

• On click: the extension runs on a page only when you select its button.
• On specific sites: you list the sites where it may run.
• On all sites: the default for many extensions, and the riskiest.

An ad blocker needs all sites to work, but a grammar checker could be limited to your email and documents sites, and a coupon tool to shopping sites. Administrators can enforce limits with the runtime_blocked_hosts option in ExtensionSettings, for example stopping all extensions from running on banking sites.

Review site access whenever an extension updates and asks for new permissions; Edge pauses it until you approve, which is the right moment to set tighter limits.

For small businesses and IT

Organizations usually manage extensions with Intune or Group Policy across all PCs, using ExtensionSettings to define, in one place, which extensions are blocked, allowed or force-installed, which sites they may access and which permissions are forbidden. Common practice is to block all extensions by default, allow an approved list reviewed every few months, force-install security or password-management extensions, and block extensions from running on sensitive internal sites.

Edge for Business also offers reports on installed extensions across the organization through Microsoft's admin tools, which helps spot risky extensions before they spread.

Smaller offices without Intune can still use Group Policy on each Pro PC, or a shared registry file that applies the same keys with a double-click. Export the finished keys from one PC, check the file, and import it on the others, then confirm each at edge://policy.

Setting extension policies with Intune

For organizations using Microsoft Intune, create a configuration profile for Windows using the Settings catalog, search for Microsoft Edge and the Extensions category, and add the same settings: Control which extensions cannot be installed with *, Allow specific extensions to be installed with the approved IDs, and optionally Control which extensions are installed silently to force-install required tools. Assign the profile to device or user groups. Results appear on each PC at edge://policy after the next sync.

Intune also reports which devices applied the profile and which had errors, which is quicker than visiting edge://policy on each PC. Test on a pilot group of a few devices first, since an allowlist missing a tool people rely on will generate support calls on day one.

ExtensionSettings in plain words

The ExtensionSettings policy replaces the separate lists with one structured setting. It contains a default entry, marked with *, that applies to every extension, plus entries for specific extension IDs. The default entry can set the installation mode to blocked, list permissions extensions may never request, such as access to USB devices, and list hosts where extensions may never run, such as internal finance sites. Each specific entry can allow, force-install or block one extension and give it its own site limits.

It is powerful but strict about formatting: one misplaced bracket makes Edge ignore the whole policy, and edge://policy shows an error. Build it in a text editor, check it with a JSON validator, and test on one PC before rolling it out.

Older extensions and Manifest V3

Chrome and Edge have moved to a newer extension platform called Manifest V3, which limits some powerful abilities older extensions had. Extensions built on the older Manifest V2 have been phased out of both browsers, so some long-abandoned extensions stopped working, and certain ad blockers changed how they work. If an extension you rely on was disabled with a message that it is no longer supported, look for an updated version or a replacement in the store.

For people controlling extensions, the change is mostly good news: Manifest V3 extensions have narrower abilities by design, which reduces the damage a bad extension can do.

A monthly extension check

1. Open edge://extensions in each profile on each shared PC.
2. Confirm only allowed extensions are present and enabled.
3. Open edge://policy and confirm the blocklist and allowlist show OK.
4. Check the default search engine and new tab page are unchanged.
5. Remove any allowed extension no one uses any more, and its ID from the allowlist.

It takes five minutes and catches problems long before they turn into hijacked searches or leaked browsing.

Put the check in your calendar on the same day as another monthly task, such as the second Tuesday when Windows updates arrive, so it becomes a habit rather than something remembered only after a problem.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting the second browser, so users switch to Chrome or Firefox.
• Typing an extension ID with a missing letter, so the allowlist never matches.
• Setting policies under HKCU for one user and assuming they apply to all.
• Not restarting Edge completely, including background processes, after changes.
• Giving everyone administrator accounts, so anyone can delete the policies.
• Leaving "Allow extensions from other stores" and Developer mode on.

The first mistake is the most common by far. Whenever you lock down one browser, check which other browsers are installed and either apply the same policies to them or remove them.

What extension policies cannot do

Extension policies control extensions in the browsers you configure, and nothing else. They do not stop someone installing a different browser, running a portable browser from a USB stick, using bookmarklets, or visiting web apps that do the same job as a blocked extension. They also do not filter websites. For those gaps, combine them with standard user accounts and app restrictions; our guide to blocking software installs covers the Windows side, and Family Safety covers website filtering for children.

Seen that way, extension policies are one layer in a small stack. On their own they stop the most common problem, unwanted extensions in the browser everyone uses; with the other layers, they make the whole PC predictable.

On Windows 10 PCs

Everything on this page works the same on Windows 10, because the policies belong to Edge and Chrome rather than to Windows. Edge continues to receive updates on Windows 10 for now, so the same settings and registry keys apply. Windows 10 itself reached end of support in October 2025, so make sure such PCs are enrolled in Extended Security Updates or plan their upgrade; a locked-down browser on an unpatched operating system is still at risk.

On Windows 10 Home, the registry method is the same; on Windows 10 Pro, Group Policy works exactly as described, with the same Edge templates.

What this page said in 2016

When this page was first written in 2016, extensions had just arrived in the original Microsoft Edge with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update, and the store had only a handful. The original tip used a Group Policy setting to stop users adding extensions to that Edge. The old Edge was retired in 2021, and today's Chromium-based Edge uses the policies on this page, which also work in Chrome. Thousands of extensions are now available, which is exactly why controlling them matters more than it did then.

The principle from 2016 still holds, only stronger: decide which extensions belong on the PC, and make that decision stick with a setting ordinary users cannot change.

Blocking Edge extensions: frequently asked questions

Ethan's sister checks edge://extensions now and then out of curiosity, and it always shows the same two extensions. The coupon finder that hijacked her shopping links is a story she tells other parents. Jake's advice to her was the same he gives every family: an extension is a guest that can read your mail, so invite few, check them often, and lock the door to the ones you never asked in.

Revision note. Written October 2, 2026, rewriting our 2016 Edge Legacy extension policy tip into a complete guide to blocking and allowing extensions in Microsoft Edge and Chrome. May your browser hold only the guests you invited.