Last fall, at Ignite, we announced the enterprise public preview of Microsoft Edge Workspaces. Since then, we’ve been hard at work to make it available more broadly and allow you to try Edge Workspaces in your home life. Today, we are excited to announce that we’re opening Edge Workspaces for a limited public preview. We want to continue to build out this game-changing, collaborative feature, and we cannot do it without valuable feedback from Edge users.
Today, we want to share what you can do with Edge Workspaces and how it can help you get more done, together. We’ll also share how you can join the public preview and be one of the first to try Edge Workspaces.
Stay focused
At Microsoft Edge, helping you get more done and multitask smarter is our priority. Edge Workspaces provides a great way for you to separate your browsing tasks into dedicated windows so you can stay focused and organized across tasks. Let’s say you are planning a trip. We all know how much research that can entail: lodging, transportation, things to do, where to eat. It can easily get overwhelming and take away some the fun of trip planning! Edge Workspaces allows you to create a space in the browser dedicated to the trip, with its own name, set of tabs and favorites – all created and curated by you. This is all designed to help you stay focused and multitask smarter.
Browse the web together
We want to help you get more done and stay organized online – and we know that much of this often involves others. Edge Workspaces can help you streamline a task or project, like a trip, in one place versus having to share links with each other back and forth. In Workspaces, you can create a single, shared view of your group’s web pages and documents within a unique browser window, with real-time updates. For that trip you’re planning, you can invite those in your group to view the same pages, share flights, lodging options, and even create a shared document to collaborate on trip activities and plans.
Stay on the same (web) page
Within Edge Workspaces, updates to web tabs, favorites, and documents happen in real time. So even if you and your group are not in the Workspace at the same time, you can pick up right where you left off and all recent updates. That trip you’re planning? Everyone in the group can continue to add tabs, and make updates at their own pace – all while still keeping the group on the same page, at a time that’s convenient for them.
Of course, when it comes to shared browsing, your privacy and security are also top of mind. It is important to note that this feature is not browser screensharing, nor does it share browser data among people who are sharing an Edge Workspace. Each user will only see content that they have access to. Moreover, you can only access Edge Workspaces if you are signed into a Microsoft account. This means a user will need to login with their own credentials to access an email account or content, or request access to a resource such as a Microsoft 365 document if they don’t already have it. Edge Workspaces will not share browser or confidential account data like logins, cookies, and passwords with anyone else who has access.
How you get access to the public preview
If you’re ready to get on the same (web) page and try out Edge Workspaces, you can access the preview here. A few things to keep in mind before you start:
- You will need to be signed into your Microsoft account using Microsoft Edge version 111.0.1661.51 (or higher). If you do not yet have a Microsoft account, you will need to create one to get started[1].
- You will receive 5 invites to send to friends and family to join the preview. As we are starting with limited preview, this will be subject to availability.
- We’re starting with a limited group of users to gather feedback and will expand to more users during the next several months.
- Workspaces will be available on PC and Mac to start.
Thank you as always for reading. Your feedback is what helps us continue to bring great features to Edge. As you try Edge Workspaces and share with your groups, please let us know what you think[2] so we can make Workspaces even better as it becomes widely available. Happy multitasking!
[1] Go to account.microsoft.com, select Sign in, and then choose Create one!
[2] You can share your feedback from the browser window by going to the Workspaces menu > Answer “Are you satisfied with Workspaces” > Send feedback