#Microsoft Edge gets ‘sleeping’ tabs and a password generator

Microsoft today added a bunch of new features to its Edge browser, helping bring it to parity with Chrome in some areas while adding some unique touches in others.

Perhaps most notably, Edge now has a password generator and monitor, helping you keep your accounts safe from hackers and making sure you’re not using the same login information for every website.

The browser will automatically suggest a password when you sign up for a new account or change an old password, and the new safety monitor will let you know if your login information has been found on the shady parts of the internet.

That said, Edge does not yet have a weak password alert like Chrome just got, and you’ll need to sign with a Microsoft account and enable syncing for the feature to work.

The other big update includes the ability to automatically put inactive tabs to tabs to sleep, helping conserve memory and CPU performance. You can enable the feature and change the amount of time it takes before a tab goes to sleep by going to Edge://settings/system. There you can also set certain cites to never go to sleep, useful if you need to maintain notifications for a certain site or if you’re listening to something in the background.

Other updates in Edge 88 include:

• The sidebar search feature is now rolling out to everyone, allowing you to research terms without leaving your current webpage.
  

  

• You can now check your three most recent Outlook emails, start a new email, or create a meeting right from the new tab page.
• Edge now lets you sync your history and tabs between devices (previously, that was just favorites, passwords, and autofill information).
• Edge gets 24 new themes to customize your browsing experience, as well as new, Fluent design-style icons.

The features are beginning to roll out today, though it may take a couple of weeks before you see them. For more on the updates — plus some changes to Bing as well, you can read Microsoft’s post here.

Did you know we have a newsletter all about consumer tech? It’s called Plugged In –
and you can subscribe to it right here.

Published January 22, 2021 — 03:12 UTC