Disabling the Edge Sidebar on Windows laptops

In Edge you can use the Sidebar, a separate browser side panel where extensions and rules do not work. Microsoft has automatically enabled this Sidebar on all laptops. Fortunately, it can also be disabled. Here is how to do that via the Intune admin center.

In the Intune admin center, go to:

For Platform, select Windows 10 and later. For Profile type, select Settings catalog and click Create at the bottom.

Give the new profile a name, e.g. "No sidebar", and click Next at the bottom.

Click + Add settings
Type "sidebar" in the search box and click Search.
Scroll down and click Microsoft Edge. 6 results appear; tick all 6:
✅ Search in Sidebar enabled
✅ Search in Sidebar enabled (User)
✅ Show Hubs Sidebar
✅ Show Hubs Sidebar (User)
✅ Standalone Sidebar Enabled
✅ Standalone Sidebar Enabled (User)

Now click Microsoft Edge: Default Settings.... 2 more results appear; tick both:
✅ Show Hubs Sidebar
✅ Show Hubs Sidebar (User)

Now click the cross at the top right, above the Search button.

Set only the toggles next to Search in Sidebar enabled to Enabled and choose Disable search in sidebar in the drop-down boxes.
Leave all the other toggles set to Disabled.

Click Next at the bottom and click Next again at Scope tags

Under "Included groups", click Add groups and select the student group(s).

Click Next, check the settings and click Create

Intune will now distribute this setting to the student accounts. From now on, the Sidebar will no longer be available for those accounts.

Updated on: 03/11/2026