REMOVAL GUIDE · MICROSOFT EDGE

Can you uninstall Microsoft Edge? What Microsoft allows

On most PCs, no. Microsoft states that Edge is the default web browser in Windows and an essential component of the operating system, and that it can't be uninstalled. The exception is the European Economic Area: since the Digital Markets Act changes of 2024, a PC whose region was set to an EEA country during setup can uninstall Edge from Settings, Apps, Installed apps. Everywhere else, what Microsoft supports is using another browser: install the one you prefer and make it the default, which you can change at any time. Forced-removal scripts are not a route Microsoft documents, and this guide does not use them. The Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime is a separate entry that other apps depend on, whatever you decide about the browser.

Updated 11 November 2026.

AT A GLANCE

Check	What it means	Reversible?
Settings, Apps, Installed apps offers Uninstall for Microsoft Edge	Windows was set up with a region in the European Economic Area, where Microsoft made Edge uninstallable	Yes: install Edge again from Microsoft
No Uninstall option for Microsoft Edge	Outside the EEA, Microsoft treats Edge as a component of Windows that can't be uninstalled	Intended by Microsoft
Another browser set as default under Settings, Apps, Default apps	What Microsoft supports everywhere: Edge stays installed but is no longer what opens your links	Yes: choose Edge again
News, Search and Weather widgets after an EEA uninstall	Microsoft documents that widgets and web apps that depend on Edge will no longer be available	Yes: reinstall Edge
Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime in the apps list	A separate component that other apps use to draw their windows	Keep it

What Microsoft supports: uninstall in the EEA, another default browser elsewhere

Microsoft explains that Windows identifies an EEA PC by the region chosen during device setup, and that this region can only be changed by resetting the PC. Its Edge policy documentation says the same from the other side: only users in EEA countries are able to uninstall Edge, and users outside that area won't be able to. On the Windows 11 PC this guide was checked on (build 26300, set up with an EEA region), Edge's uninstall entry registered its own uninstall command and was not marked NoRemove, while the WebView2 Runtime's entry on the same PC was.

See which case you are in
Open Settings, Apps, Installed apps and find Microsoft Edge. Microsoft's Digital Markets Act changes put the uninstall option there for PCs in the EEA. If Edge has no Uninstall option, the PC is not treated as an EEA device and Microsoft's answer is that Edge can't be uninstalled.
In the EEA: uninstall it from Settings
Choose Uninstall for Microsoft Edge in Installed apps. Before you do, note what Microsoft documents about the result: applications, widgets such as News, Search and Weather, and Progressive Web Applications that depend on Edge will no longer be available.
Everywhere: make another browser the default
Install the browser you prefer, then open Settings, Apps, Default apps, select that browser and choose Set default. Microsoft's own steps use Edge as the example; the other browsers you have installed are in the same list.
On a work PC, ask the administrator
On domain-joined devices in the EEA, Microsoft gives administrators a policy, Specify uninstall behavior for Microsoft Edge, that can uninstall Edge for everyone or prevent users from uninstalling it.
05
Check how Windows registered Edge (read-only)
This only reads the entry. Microsoft documents NoRemove as the flag that disables an entry's Remove button; an empty NoRemove line means the flag is not set.
```
Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Microsoft Edge' |
  Format-List DisplayName, DisplayVersion, NoRemove, SystemComponent, UninstallString
```
PowerShell

What stays, and what to leave

There is nothing to clean by hand here. Where Edge can't be uninstalled, it is a part of Windows that Microsoft updates; where it can, the uninstall is Microsoft's own. In both cases the WebView2 Runtime is a different entry with a different job, and Microsoft Edge Update keeps both patched. These read-only commands show which Edge entries are registered.

Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\*' |
  Where-Object DisplayName -match 'Microsoft Edge' |
  Format-Table DisplayName, DisplayVersion, NoRemove, SystemComponent

Usually safe to act on

Edge keeps opening links after you chose another browser: check Settings, Apps, Default apps again and set the default from the other browser's entry.

Your data and settings: keep

The Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime: apps built on it stop working without it, and it is not the browser.
Microsoft Edge Update: it delivers security fixes to Edge and to the WebView2 Runtime.
Edge itself, where Windows offers no Uninstall: removing files by hand is not a method Microsoft documents.

What a restore point does and does not cover

Microsoft describes restore points as snapshots of system files, installed applications, the Windows registry and system settings, taken without affecting personal data. That also means a restore point is not a backup of your files. System Protection is not enabled by default, so on a PC where nobody switched it on, a request for a restore point fails; you turn it on under Create a restore point, Configure. And when an app asks for a restore point while one made in the previous 24 hours already exists, Windows skips the new one and still reports success. For Edge, where Microsoft allows the uninstall, reinstalling the browser is the direct way back; a System Restore would also roll back everything else changed since the restore point.

How PC Tweaker Uninstaller treats it

It shows Microsoft Edge as Windows registers it. Where Windows marks an entry as a system component, the entry is hidden until you choose Show hidden and is rated Keep; that is the case for the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime, which is also a shared runtime in its rules. For an entry Windows leaves removable, the brief shows the exact command it registered and whether it needs administrator rights, and running it starts Microsoft's own uninstaller, with whatever answer Microsoft gives on that PC. It does not force Edge out, edit policies or change the region Windows recorded at setup. Before an elevated removal it asks Windows for a restore point and records the outcome in the Removal Ledger. Because of the 24-hour rule above, Windows sometimes keeps an earlier point instead of making a new one. From version 0.13.8 the receipt says created only when it has verified a new point, and otherwise says that Windows reused the one from a given date; earlier versions could report created in that case.

Keep reading

why the WebView2 Runtime should stay — The separate Edge component that other apps need, and what breaks without it.
msedgewebview2.exe in Task Manager — Why there are so many of these processes, and which app owns them.
uninstalling the Copilot app — A Microsoft app that Microsoft does let you uninstall, from Settings.
what to leave alone when you uninstall programs — Shared runtimes, settings folders and licence files.
how PC Tweaker Uninstaller rates system components — Safe, Review and Keep, with the reasons for each.

Common questions

Can I uninstall Microsoft Edge?

On most PCs, no: Microsoft states that Edge is an essential component of the operating system and can't be uninstalled. The exception is a PC whose region was set to a European Economic Area country during Windows setup, where Microsoft added an uninstall option for Edge in Settings, Apps, Installed apps.

Why can't I uninstall Microsoft Edge?

Microsoft's explanation is that Edge is the default web browser in Windows and that Windows supports applications that rely on the web platform, so the default browser is treated as part of the operating system. You can still install other browsers and change the default at any time.

How do I uninstall Edge in the EU?

If Windows was set up with a region in the European Economic Area, open Settings, Apps, Installed apps, find Microsoft Edge and choose Uninstall. Microsoft says Windows uses the region chosen during device setup, and that it can only be changed by resetting the PC. It also documents that widgets such as News, Search and Weather, and web apps that depend on Edge, will no longer be available afterwards.

If I remove Edge, should I remove WebView2 too?

No. The Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime is a separate entry that other apps use to draw their windows, and Microsoft preinstalls it on Windows 11 as part of the operating system. Apps that depend on it stop working without it.

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