Microsoft Edge 122 Released; Restores Option To Hide Sidebar Button, Rebrands Web Capture

Microsoft has updated its Edge browser to version 122. More precisely, the Edge users will now get version 122.0.2365.52.

This update applies several fixes to the browser, and some of the changes applied to this release are taken from the earlier Dev channel releases. Moreover, it also addresses 11 security vulnerabilities, 3 of which are Edge-specific and address spoofing and Information Disclosure vulnerabilities.

Additionally, Microsoft had earlier removed the capability to disable (or enable) the sidebar if Copilot was off. This option has silently been restored to Microsoft Edge without Microsoft talking about it, which hints that this configuration may have been a bug, which is now fixed with Edge v122.

Microsoft Edge 122 release summary

• Complete Release Build: 122.0.2365.52
• Release Date: Friday, February 23rd, 2024
• Compatibility: Windows 11, 10 (32-bit and 64-bit), Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android.
• Previous Build: 121.0.2277.83
• Security Fixes: 11. More information about security fixes can be found here.

What’s new in Edge 122

Microsoft Edge version 122 introduces several new fixes and features. Some of these have been carried forward from different Dev releases over the past few weeks. The following Dev channel updates were used for this purpose:

• Dev Channel update 122.0.2325.0
• Dev Channel update 122.0.2348.0
• Dev Channel update 122.0.2353.0
• Dev Channel update 122.0.2365.3

Other than the added features, fixes, and changes in each of these Dev releases, some new features, fixes, and improvements have also been made to Edge 122, which are as follows.

Features and Changes in Edge 122

• The sidebar button can be hidden with or without Copilot

  Previously, if Copilot was disabled in Microsoft Edge, its button in the top menu would be replaced by the Sidebar button, which would show or hide the sidebar. However, users would not be able to remove this button if they did not need the sidebar.

  With Microsoft Edge 122, the option to show or hide the sidebar button has been restored, even when Copilot is disabled.

  As you can see in the image below, you can show or hide the sidebar button in the menu bar from Settings > Sidebar. When disabled, the button would disappear from the top menu next to the Omnibox.

  

• “Web Capture” has been rebranded to “Screenshot”

  The “Web Capture” option in the context menu when you right-click a web page has been renamed to “Screenshot“.

  

  This option lets you capture the entire web page or a portion of the screen, which you can also mark up for editing later.

• The Managed Site Indicator (Briefcase icon) has been moved to the lock icon in the Omnibox

  When accessing a web page or a website that is managed via admin policies, a Briefcase icon appears on the side of the Omnibox. This indicator has now been shifted inside the lock icon which is to the left of the Omnibox, which signals that a website is secure and uses SSL certificates.

  The end users can view details about the protections for a given page by clicking the lock icon in the address bar and then clicking the briefcase icon.

• Microsoft Edge management service

  The Microsoft Edge management service provides admins with the ability to set recommended policies. This permits end users to override their admin’s policy configuration.

• The image enhancement feature has been deprecated

  Microsoft Edge’s built-in image enhancer has been deprecated to provide users with a better experience.

• Fixes to PDF files

  • Resolved an issue where PDF text fields and drop-down values were being rendered twice for specific files when using the Microsoft Edge built-in PDF reader powered by Adobe Acrobat.
  • Resolved an issue where printing certain PDF files in landscape mode with the ‘fit to printable area‘ option resulted in incorrect printing.

Policy changes in Edge 122

Along with the new features, fixes, and changes mentioned above, some policy changes are also introduced with Microsoft Edge 122.

• New policies

  • AIGenThemesEnabled – Enables DALL-E themes generation
  • EnhanceSecurityModeAllowUserBypass – Allow users to bypass Enhanced Security Mode
  • SuperDragDropEnabled – Super Drag Drop enabled
  • UrlDiagnosticDataEnabled – URL reporting in Edge diagnostic data enabled
  • EdgeOpenInSidebarEnabled – Enables open in Sidebar
  • EdgeSidebarCustomizeEnabled – Enables sidebar customization
  • DiagnosticData – Send required and optional diagnostic data about browser usage

• Obsolete policies

  • EdgeEnhanceImagesEnabled – Enhance images enabled (obsolete)

Security improvements in Edge 122

The following list of Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures have been addressed with this Edge update:

• Chromium-based
  • CVE-2024-1669 – Out of bounds memory access in Blink
  • CVE-2024-1670 – Use after free in Mojo
  • CVE-2024-1671 – Inappropriate implementation in Site Isolation
  • CVE-2024-1672 – Inappropriate implementation in Content Security Policy
  • CVE-2024-1673 – Use after free in Accessibility
  • CVE-2024-1674 – Inappropriate implementation in Navigation
  • CVE-2024-1675 – Insufficient policy enforcement in Download
  • CVE-2024-1676 – Inappropriate implementation in Navigation
• Edge specific
  • CVE-2024-21423 – Information Disclosure Vulnerability
  • CVE-2024-26192 – Information Disclosure Vulnerability
  • CVE-2024-26188 – Spoofing Vulnerability 

Upgrade to Edge 122

If you want to download Edge 122 for offline installation, you can visit the following page which lists several methods to download and upgrade your Microsoft Edge browser.

Download Microsoft Edge Browser

Alternatively, since Egde should already be present on your Windows PC, you can simply perform an in-place upgrade by clicking the ellipses (3 dots) in the top-right corner of the browser, expanding “Help and feedback,” and then clicking “About Microsoft Edge.” Edge will automatically download and install the latest version. Click Restart when it’s done.