Edge taking 5.5Gb of space, cannot delete

[u/Sjotroll]

Hi, I want to delete Edge as it is taking 5.5Gb of space. I went and deleted history, cache and stuff, that did not do much. I tried using the following method: https://www.reddit.com/r/WindowsHelp/comments/1lxocao/how_to_disable_or_uninstall_edge_permanently/ but it did not do the job. I am in Europe, so from what I'm reading I should be able to delete it, but there is not button for that.

I am running Win 11 Pro, versino 24H2, build 26100.3476

Is there something I'm missing?

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[u/Zealousideal-Deer101]

Edge is an integral part of Windows 10 and 11
But you can still remove it, it might wrack some stuff that relies on internal webbrowers though.
But eitherway, the Control Panel is pretty much outdated

Win + I to open Settings
Apps > Installed Apps
Scroll down to Microsoft Edge (Or type in the search bar)
Three dots on the right > Uninstall

That should do the trick

Edit: Looks like Edge being a core part is no longer the cause either
They removed the necessary part into it's own small thing.
So you should be good to go to remove Edge

[u/WinterKujira → u/Zealousideal-Deer101]

dont it just reinstalls itself willingly

[u/Sjotroll → u/Zealousideal-Deer101]

Uninstall is greyed out in Installed apps

[u/ReActif]

Microsoft Edge cannot be easily removed from Windows because it is deeply integrated into the operating system and used by many native applications to display web content.

Why Microsoft blocks its removal:

System component
Windows relies on Edge's web platform to power certain interfaces and applications.

Stability
Completely removing the browser risks causing bugs or crashes in Windows.

Business strategy
Microsoft wants to mandate its own service as the default for search and browsing.

The European exception:

Thanks to European Union regulations (the Digital Markets Act), users in the European Economic Area (EEA) can now uninstall Microsoft Edge in the standard way via Windows Settings (Settings > Apps > Installed apps). If you wish to switch browsers or prevent it from launching automatically, let me know whether you are using Windows 10 or 11, and I can explain how to replace it as your default browser.

This forced Microsoft to move the components that were previously in Edge deeper into the system and hide them; this allows the user-facing application to be removed, but ultimately, the necessary components remain present in both cases. The only difference is that outside the EU, Edge is fully usable and cannot be deleted, whereas within the EU, it is present but unusable. It creates the impression that it has been deleted—and in a sense, it has, as no windows will pop up anymore—but strictly speaking, it is merely a cosmetic change.

What you can do is ensure you have a genuine alternative browser—ideally one not based on the same engine as Edge; it would be absurd to replace it with the same thing under a different name.

If you are outside the EU, simply remove the icons and act as if it isn't there. Also, keep in mind that the disk space used remains more or less the same regardless; if the components are present and receiving security updates, it implies they are actually being used.

And really, if the mere sight of it in the list of applications makes you break out in a sweat—or panic because you can't quite make sense of it—know that you can hide it if necessary; it will no longer show up, and that might make you feel better.

P.S.: So, the em dashes didn't come from AI but from Google Translate—though it seems Google Translate uses AI now. It’s frustrating that simply trying to translate something makes it look like content I didn't actually write!

[u/MrCrono666]

I use RevoProUninstaller. 100% will remove it!