Microsoft Edge finally adds a leaked passwords feature

After killing off its flagship browser Internet Explorer, Microsoft has been adding features to its new Edge browser making it easier to use and more useful. In a recent blog Microsoft announced two new features it has added to the roster -- price tracking and leaked password support.

These features will sound familiar to most Internet users since you would have spotted them on other browsers earlier. For example, Google’s Chrome has a similar price tracking feature and a password check feature, while Apple’s Safari keeps a tab on your passwords as well. Both Chrome and Safari also recommend strong passwords to the users when they are in the process of changing or creating one.

Microsoft Edge is late to the show, clearly, but for loyal Windows users, these are handy features to have.

The new password tool on Edge makes it easier to update your password if it has been leaked online. The browser already keeps a track of leaked passwords if permitted and this new upgrade guides users directly to the change password page for the site where it has been compromised so as it can be updated. Here, Edge will also create a strong, unique password that users can pick or go ahead with one of their own.  

Microsoft Edge has a password health dashboard and a Password Monitor in-built already that, if used, keeps track of any potentially leaked credentials and checks if the passwords being set are strong and not repeated across sites. The new update helps with easier navigation to the page where a compromised password can be changed, and this is where the browser’s password generator kicks in to recommend a strong password.

Lait Ben-Zur, a Microsoft Executive, said that this password update is available “across limited number of sites” to start with and the list will be expanded over the coming months.

The new price tracking feature on Microsoft Edge will keep a tab on products you have been checking out online and will alert the user once the price changes. The browser has been focusing a lot on improving the shopping experience on Edge lately with price comparison, price history, and built-in coupons. The latest feature comes built-in to the browser like the others.

This means that Edge will be tracking your browsing patterns and content across sites to effectively make this feature work and here the company has not mentioned how it intends to address the obvious privacy concerns involved. However, given that Microsoft has usually offered privacy-focused features on the browser, indications are that there might be options available to address this one as well.

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