Overview

The Microsoft Edge web browser allows you to create and manage multiple profiles on the same machine.

Using multiple profiles, you can open browser sessions on the same machine that are associated with different users or different accounts. This can be useful to keep separate your work and personal browser settings and your company settings separate from each customer's environment.

Each profile is associated with an email address. You can create a new email address at https://outlook.com

Creating a New Profile

To create a new profile, open Microsoft Edge and click the profile icon (Fig. 1) in the top right corner of the browser to launch the menu shown in Fig. 2. My profile icon has a photo of me, but yours may have your initials. You configured a default profile the first time you launched Microsoft Edge after installing it on this machine.

np01-ProfileIcon
Fig. 1

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Fig. 2

Click the [Add profile] menu option to open the "Add a profile" blade, as shown in Fig. 3.

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Fig. 3

The "Welcome to Microsoft Edge" screen displays, as shown in Fig. 4.

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Fig. 4

Click the [Sign in to sync data] button to display, the "Let's get you signed in" dialog, as shown in Fig. 5.

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Fig. 5

Enter your email address and click the [Sign In] button to display the "Enter password" dialog, as shown in Fig. 6.

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Fig. 6

Enter the password associated with this email and click the [Sign In] button to display the "Help us protect your account" dialog, as shown in Fig. 7.

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Fig. 7

Re-enter your email address and click the [Next] button to display the "Enter your security code" dialog, as shown in Fig. 8; then check your email for a message with a 6-digit code.

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Fig. 8

Enter the 6-digit code from the email and click the [Next] button to display the confirmation dialog, as shown in Fig. 9.

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Fig. 9

Click the [OK] button to close this dialog and display the "Windows Security" dialog, as shown in Fig. 10.

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Fig. 10

Enter the PIN you use to unlock this Windows workstation. click the [OK] button to display the "Add details" dialog, as shown in Fig. 11.

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Fig. 11

Enter your name, birth date, and country in the appropriate fields and click the [Next] button to display the "Please confirm your age" dialog, as shown in Fig. 12.

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Fig. 12

Click the [Next] button if your birth date is displayed correctly and click the [Next] button to display a confirmation dialog, as shown in Fig. 13. If your birth date is not displayed correctly, click the [Back] button and correct it.

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Fig. 13

Click the [Confirm and start browsing] button to begin using this new profile.

Now that you have create the profile, you can switch between profiles by clicking the profile icon at the top right of the Edge browser, as shown in Fig. 14.

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Fig. 14

Managing a Profile

You can make changes to your profiles from the Edge Settings page. Open the Edge Settings page by clicking the Ellipsis in the top right corner of the browser and selecting "Settings" from the dropdown menu, as shown in Fig. 15.

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Fig. 15

The "Settings" page displays, as shown in Fig. 16.

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Fig. 16

If the "Profiles" tab is not selected, select it from the left sidebar. The current profile is highlighted, but you can view your other profiles in the "More profiles" section below. Click the [Switch] button next to one of these profiles to view the settings associated with it.

To modify profile settings, click the Ellipsis next to the profile and select "Edit" from the dropdown menu, as shown in Fig. 17.

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Fig. 17

The "Edit profile" dialog displays, as shown in Fig. 18.

np18-EditProfile
Fig. 18

Give this profile a more descriptive name, making it easy to identify from a list of your profiles.

By default, this profile displays only your initials. To upload your own picture, click the "Change picture" link, which displays the dialog shown in Fig. 19.

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Fig. 19

Click the "Add a photo" link and select a photo from your local drive. The photo will display in the Drop Zone, as shown in Fig. 20.

np20-ChangePhoto
Fig. 20

Use the controls to zoom in and out and position the photo as desired. Click the [Save] button to commit this photo.

The confirmation dialog shown in Fig. 21 displays.

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Fig. 21

Click the [Close] button when finished.

Deleting a Profile

If you decide you no longer need a profile, you can delete it from the Microsoft Edge Settings page. Sometimes, I create a profile for the purpose of using Single Sign On in with a customer's credentials and I no longer need this profile when my work with that customer concludes.

Open the Edge Settings page by clicking the Ellipsis in the top right corner of the browser and selecting "Settings" from the dropdown menu, as shown in Fig. 22.

np22-BrowserMenu
Fig. 22

The "Settings" page displays, as shown in Fig. 23.

np23-ProfileSettings - Copy
Fig. 23

If the "Profiles" tab is not selected, select it from the left sidebar. The current profile is highlighted, but you can view your other profiles in the "More profiles" section below. Click the [Switch] button next to one of these profiles to view the settings associated with it.

To delete a profile, click the Ellipsis next to the profile and select "Delete" from the dropdown menu, as shown in Fig. 24.

np24-ProfileMenu
Fig. 24

Conclusion

In this article, you learned how to create a new profile in Microsoft Edge, manage that profile, and delete that profile.