Microsoft keeps improving its Edge web browser by adding pretty much everything under the sun. This page preloading feature is one of the more exciting new additions.
As the name gives away, this is an ability that is supposed to make searching and browser faster overall.
The browser can preload certain data before you actually head over to that page.
While it may seem like a pretty advanced system, most web browsers have already implemented something like this. However, since the new Edge based on Chromium is still in its early days, it has become one of the last ones to add this feature.
Google itself provides us with a closer look at how this whole thing rolls on Chrome:
“Browsers use an IP address to load a webpage. When you visit a webpage, Chrome can look up the IP addresses of all the page’s links and load the ones you might navigate to next. If you turn this setting on, websites and any embedded content that are preloaded can set and read their own cookies as if you had visited them, even if you don’t.”
Neat stuff.
As for Edge, Microsoft officially added this capability in a new Dev Channel build of the web browser, that being version 85.0.531.1. It is the only feature of note in this release.
The release notes explain that this option is available as setting that enables preloading of certain webpages for faster searches and browsing. It uses cookies to remember your preferences, even if you don’t visit those pages.
You can toggle this feature on or off by updating Microsoft Edge Dev, and then heading over to the following path:
Microsoft Edge > Settings > Privacy and services > Services > Preload pages for faster browsing and searching
The feature is currently available on all supported platforms, meaning that it will soon make its way to the stable build when Edge 85 gets the greenlight for release on Windows and macOS in the very near future.
