Did you ever wonder why Microsoft Edge browser is showing “Your browser is managed by your organization” message? This means some of the browser settings are controlled by network administrator or by an app installed on your computer. In general, the message is not harmful if you know from where it comes. Otherwise, it will be frustrating as you can’t change some settings and customize the browser. In this article, let’s explain the possible reasons and methods to fix managed by organization issue in Microsoft Edge.
Note that Google Chrome also will show the same message as both Edge and Chrome use same Chromium backend. Check our article on how to fix this issue in Google Chrome.
Before Trying to Fix the Issue
If you are using the company’s computer, then this message appears probably because your network administrator might have applied certain system policies. On personal computers, it could be due to an installed apps or extension which changes system behavior. For example, using Windows in virtual machine setup may show this “Your browser is managed by your organization” message in Edge. In these cases, you can’t remove that message unless you get rid of the extension/app or discuss with your network admin to remove the applied policies.
The message will appear in Edge settings page (edge://settings/) as shown below.
You can also see the message appears as “Manage by your organization” as a last item in the menu.
Why Should You Fix?
If the message appears in your personal computer, then you should fix it to remove the restrictions on settings page. For example, go to edge://settings/privacy page where you can see the secure DNS setting is disabled with a padlock. It will show the setting is turned off for the managed browsers.
Go to edge://settings/system page where you can find the “Startup boost” option shows a padlock icon. Though this option is controlled, it still allows you to turn on.
You will face these kinds of issues throughout the setting pages in Edge. Therefore, you should fix the issue to get rid of these padlock icons.
Fixing Managed By Your Organization Message in Edge
Click the “browser is managed” link in the message to open edge://management/ page. There you will see a clear information on why you are seeing the message.
Click the edge://policy/ link on that page to open Edge policy page where you can see all the policies applied on your browser.
You need to remove these policies to fix your browser is managed by organization issue in Microsoft Edge using one of the following methods.
1. Using Registry Editor
One method to fix managed by organization issue in Microsoft Edge is deleting the policies using Registry Editor. Registry Editor has a database that stores all the settings of the Windows operating system and all installed programs. When any policy is applied to Microsoft Edge it will get stored in the Windows Registry. And with the help of Registry Editor, we can easily delete that policy.
Deleting the policy applied to Microsoft Edge means it will no longer be controlled by any external organization or extension. Follow these steps to delete the policies from Registry Editor:
- Press Windows + R keys together to open the Run dialog box. Then type “regedit” and press OK.
- Before deleting any policy, it is important to make a backup in case you want to restore the registries back to the default. For that, go to the “File” tab from the top menu and select “Export”. Export the file to your desired location to use it later.
- Copy the following location, paste in the Registry Editor’s address bar and press enter key to navigate to that location.
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge
- Right-click on “Edge” folder and select “Delete”.
- Choose the “Yes” button to permanently delete the policies of Microsoft Edge.
- Restart the system and open Microsoft Edge. Click on the three dots icon and you will see the message “Managed by your organization” is no longer there.
2. Disable or Delete Extensions
Another possible solution to fix this issue is deleting or disabling the extensions causing the problem. First, open your browser and go to edge://extensions/ page to find all installed extensions in your browser. Turn off the switch against each installed item to disable all of them. If they are not important, you can also remove all the extensions and install later if required. Now, check the settings page or menu shows “Managed by your organization” message. If the message is removed, then you can confirm the problem is caused by one of the extensions and activate/install them one by one to find the culprit.
In most cases, you do not need to remove or disable all the extensions. The item causing issue will show a padlock icon and WILL NOT ALLOW you to remove/disable.
Follow the below instructions to delete the locked extension causing issue in Edge:
- You need to first find source application path of this extension to remove it. For that, click Start menu and type “Add or remove programs” in the search box.
- Open “Add or remove programs” option from the result and look for the application list to find the extension name.
- Click on the three dots next to the extension and then select “Uninstall” option.
- Now click on the “Uninstall all” button to permanently remove that extension from Edge. You may not see this screen for all extensions and in most cases, you need to simply confirm another pop-up to delete it.
Since the problem causing extension is deleted, you will not see the “Managed by organization” message in Edge.
3. Reset Edge Settings
If the above method fails to fix the managed by organization message issue in Microsoft Edge, try resetting the settings of Microsoft Edge.
- Open Edge, click on the three dots at the top-right corner of the window and then select “Settings”.
- Find “Reset settings” option from left side menu and click to open it.
- Click on “Restore settings to their default values” and then select “Reset” in the pop-up.
4. Check for Adware and Malware
If the message is due to some kind of adware or malware, then resetting the settings will not help fix this issue. For that, you need to scan your computer with third-party software like Malwarebytes and remove such malware. Let us see how to download and use Malwarebytes to run the scan. You can use any other reliable app for this purpose.
- Go to the official website of Malwarebytes and download the app from there. For one-time use, you can use the trial version instead of purchasing the software.
- Follow the instructions to install the software on your PC.
- After successful installation of Malwarebytes, open the app and click the “Get started” button.
- On the next screen, click the “Scan” button under “Scanner” section. This will start the scanning process and take some time to complete.
- Once the process is completed, it will show all the threats if found. Select the file and click “Quarantine” button to quarantine the infected files.
- After removal of threats, click on “Next” button to view the summary and close the Malwarebytes app.
Now open Microsoft Edge and check if the issue is resolved or not.
5. Delete Local Group Policies from Command Prompt
If the problem persists, the last option is to reset all Local Group Policy settings through Command Prompt. Since, this can result in unforeseen situation, make sure to take a system back up and do this only if you know what you are doing.
- Type “cmd” in Windows search box / bar from taskbar and then right-click on Command Prompt app from the list. Select “Run as administrator” to open the app in admin mode.
- Type the following command in Command Prompt and press enter. This will delete all Group Policy settings along with its values.
RD /S /Q "%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicy"
- Now type the following command and press enter to delete Group Policy settings stored for individual users in your PC.
RD /S /Q "%WinDir%\System32\GroupPolicyUsers"
- Finally, type the last command and press enter. The function of this command is to refresh the settings of Group Policy on your Windows and force the system to apply changes immediately.
gpupdate /force
Restart your PC and check the message on Microsoft Edge disappeared or not.
Final Thoughts
In general, seeing “Managed by your organization” message in Edge is not a problem. This happens due to an extension or program that forces a policy in Edge. As a result, some Edge settings will be disabled or forced to a predefined value. It will become an issue only when you want to change the Edge setting forced by the policy. If disabling extensions do not work, then the most effective method is to delete Edge policies from Registry Editor. Once the policies are reset, you can gain control of your browser settings and customize Microsoft Edge accordingly.
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