How to Set New Tab Page to Blank in Edge on Windows 11

Quick fix: Install the Custom New Tab URL extension from the Edge Add-ons store and set the URL to about:blank — Edge has no built-in option for a blank new tab, but a one-line extension handles it cleanly.

Every new tab in Edge loads the Discover feed: a wall of news headlines, trending topics, sponsored content, and the Bing search bar you didn’t ask for. You want a blank page so your new tab opens instantly with nothing competing for your attention. Edge intentionally doesn’t expose a “blank” option in Settings — but three approaches give you the same result.

What causes this

Edge’s new tab page is hard-coded to Microsoft’s start page service. The page-content toggles in Settings → New tab page let you turn off images, articles, and weather widgets, but they don’t turn off the page itself — the underlying URL edge://newtab always loads. There’s no setting that says “blank URL”. The workarounds: override new tab via an extension, use a policy/registry to set a homepage that loads on every new tab, or use a launch flag to pin a different URL.

Method 1: Use the Custom New Tab URL extension

The simplest blank-page solution. One extension, one configuration.

1. Open Edge. Click the three-dot menu → Extensions → Open Microsoft Edge Add-ons.
2. Search for Custom New Tab URL (multiple variants exist; pick one with a high rating and a recent update date).
3. Click Get → Add extension.
4. After installation, click the extension icon in the toolbar. In the URL field, enter about:blank.
5. Save. Open a new tab with Ctrl + T — it should now open to a completely blank page.
6. If you prefer a minimal start page instead of fully blank, enter https://duckduckgo.com, https://www.google.com, or any URL of your choice.

The extension persists across Edge updates. If you sync extensions across devices via Edge sync, the setting applies everywhere.

Method 2: Disable Discover content via Edge settings (mitigation, not full blank)

For users who want a faster new tab but don’t need fully blank.

1. Open Edge → three-dot menu → Settings.
2. Click Start, home, and new tabs in the left sidebar.
3. Under When Edge starts, choose either Open the new tab page or Open these pages (for the latter, add about:blank).
4. Open a new tab. Click the gear icon in the top-right of the new tab page.
5. Select Custom as the layout.
6. Set the following toggles:
   • Show content: Off (removes the article feed entirely)
   • Quick links: Off (or set to your preference)
   • Background image: Off
   • Greeting: Off
   • Promotions: Off
7. Click Save. Open another new tab — the page now shows the search bar at most.

This stops the slow Discover content load but keeps the Bing search bar. The page itself still loads from edge://newtab — it just renders minimally.

Method 3: Group Policy / Registry override for managed environments

Use this on managed PCs where extensions are blocked or you need the setting to persist regardless of user changes.

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, press Enter.
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge. Create the keys if missing.
3. Create a String Value named NewTabPageLocation.
4. Set its value to about:blank (or any URL you prefer).
5. Close Registry Editor and restart Edge.
6. Open a new tab. It now loads the URL you specified, bypassing edge://newtab entirely.
7. Verify the policy is active: visit edge://policy in Edge’s address bar. NewTabPageLocation should appear in the policy list with your chosen URL.

This survives extension removal, Edge updates, and Reset Edge actions. It’s the most durable solution but requires admin rights.

How to verify the fix worked

• Open a new tab with Ctrl + T. The page should be blank (white in light mode, dark in dark mode) with no content visible.
• The address bar should show about:blank or your custom URL — not edge://newtab.
• New tab loading should feel instant (no flicker, no content loading animation).

If none of these work

If new tabs still load the Discover feed despite the policy or extension, another extension may be intercepting new tabs and taking precedence. Open Edge → three-dot menu → Extensions → Manage extensions and check for any extension claiming “Override new tab page” permissions other than the one you installed. Disable competing extensions one at a time until the right one wins. For corporate-managed Edge installations where the Group Policy is set by IT to a specific URL you don’t want, contact IT — your local override won’t persist against the management policy. The last resort for personal use is to add Edge to the “don’t open browser at startup” section and instead use Chrome or Firefox, both of which expose a blank-new-tab option directly in Settings without needing extensions.

Bottom line: Edge intentionally hides the blank new tab option — but a single extension or one registry value gives you a completely blank new tab in under three minutes.