This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable automatically enhance images in Microsoft Edge for your account or all users in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
This setting is no longer available in Microsoft Edge.
The Microsoft Edge web browser is based on Chromium and was released on January 15, 2020. It is compatible with all supported versions of Windows, and macOS. With speed, performance, best in class compatibility for websites and extensions, and built-in privacy and security features.
To provide a better browsing experience, Microsoft Edge offers Image Enhancement by improving color, lighting, contrast, and sharpness of images.
When Image Enhancement is turned on, Microsoft Edge encrypts and transmits images to Microsoft servers to perform image enhancement. No user identifiers are included in the requests to the servers. The images are cached for 30 days to improve performance.
Reference:
Microsoft Edge Privacy Whitepaper
Privacy aspects of features of Microsoft Edge, including how your data is shared with Microsoft and how to change settings for this data sharing.
learn.microsoft.com
Contents
- Option One: Turn On or Off Enhance Images in Microsoft Edge for Current User from Settings
- Option Two: Enable or Disable Enhance Images in Microsoft Edge for All Users using REG file
1 Open Microsoft Edge.
2 Click/tap on the Setting and more (Alt+F) 3 dots button, and click/tap on Settings. (see screenshot below)
3 Click/tap on Privacy, search, and services in the left pane. (see screenshot below)
If you do not see a left pane, then either click/tap on the 3 bars menu button towards the top left OR widen the horizontal borders of the Microsoft Edge window until you do.
4 Perform the available step below: (see screenshots below)
- (OLD) Under Services on the right side, turn on (default) or off Enhance images in Microsoft Edge for what you want.
- (NEW) Under Services on the right side, click/tap on Enhance images in Microsoft Edge, and turn on (default) or off Enhance images for all sites for what you want.
You must be signed in as an administrator to use this option.
This option uses the EdgeEnhanceImagesEnabled policy for Microsoft Edge.
OBSOLETE: This policy is obsolete and doesn't work after Microsoft Edge 121.
1 Do step 2 (always enable), step 3 (disable), or step 4 (default) below for what you want.
2 Always Enable Enhance Images in Microsoft Edge for All Users
This will override and gray out Option One.
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the REG file below, and go to step 5 below.
Always_Enable_enhance_images_in_Microsoft_Edge_for_all_users.reg
Download
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge]
"EdgeEnhanceImagesEnabled"=dword:000000013 Disable Enhance Images in Microsoft Edge for All Users
This will override and gray out Option One.
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the REG file below, and go to step 5 below.
Disable_enhance_images_in_Microsoft_Edge_for_all_users.reg
Download
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge]
"EdgeEnhanceImagesEnabled"=dword:000000004 Default User Choice Enhance Images in Microsoft Edge
This is the default setting to allow using Option One.
A) Click/tap on the Download button below to download the REG file below, and go to step 5 below.
Default_user-choice_enhance_images_in_Microsoft_Edge.reg
Download
(Contents of REG file for reference)
Code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge]
"EdgeEnhanceImagesEnabled"=-5 Save the .reg file to your desktop.
6 Double click/tap on the downloaded .reg file to merge it.
7 When prompted, click/tap on Run, Yes (UAC), Yes, and OK to approve the merge.
8 If Microsoft Edge is currently open, then close and reopen Microsoft Edge to apply.
9 You can now delete the downloaded .reg file if you like.
That's it,
Shawn Brink
Last edited:
