Microsoft has updated its Edge browser to version 98, in line with the four-week schedule for new updates. This release comes with some improvements for PCs with multiple Edge profiles, plus a new security mode and other improvements.

For users that have multiple Edge profiles set up, you can now create a list of sites that automatically switch you to a different profile. For example, say you always access your school's website with a specific Edge profile for school. If you want to avoid accessing that site with a different profile, you can set it up so that when you open the website, you'll automatically be switched to the right Edge profile.

Microsoft also says it has added a new security mode in Edge 98, which "adds an extra layer of protection" for users. The company is very unspecific with what this security mode does, but it's to protect users from vulnerabilities being exploited in the wild. It's worth noting that Microsoft was working on a "Super Duper Secure Mode" last summer, which users could test in Edge Insider channels. This would disable the JIT compiler for JavaScript to greatly reduce the number of vulnerabilities that could be exploited at the cost of some performance in some scenarios.

Enhanced security mode in Edge 98

It's unclear if that's what's being done here, but when you try to enable this feature in the browser's settings, Microsoft warns you that some sites may stop working. This is specifically true if you enable this featture in Strict mode, which enforces the extra security on every website. If you choose Balanced mode, sites you visit most often (since you likely trust them) won't be affected by the security layer and continue working as normal, as explained in a support page.

Beyond that, this update comes with an updated design for the scroll bar based on the new Windows 11 scroll bars. This design makes it so that the bar is overlaid on top of the page content isntead of taking up screen real estate. This is an experimental feature you can enable in edge://flags.

Microsoft is also deprecating WebRTC Session Description Protocol Plan B semantics, which is a legacy feature that's now been replaced by Unified Plan. This ensures compatibility with newer WebRTC applications and aligns Edge with other browsers. Finally, Microsoft is letting site owners prepare for the upcoming launch of Edge 100 by testing the user agent string with Edge version 100. This is because some sites may struggle with the additional digit in the user agent string. This is something Google is also doing with Chrome.

If you already have Edge installed (it's included with Windows 10 and 11), it should update to the latest version automatically. Otherwise, you can download Edge 98 here.