Today, I will explore how to enable or disable Default Share Additional OS Region in MS Edge Browser using M365 Admin Center Policy. The latest version of Microsoft Edge contains numerous policies. These policies enable customized configurations, focusing on security, privacy, and user experience.
Microsoft Edge shares regional preference information from your operating system (OS) with website authors. This helps them create experiences that match users’ preferences when they visit their sites. By using the regional settings you choose in the OS, website authors can offer a more personalized experience.
The share additional operating system region setting in Microsoft Edge determines if your operating system’s regional formatting preferences are accessible to websites via JavaScript. When enabled, websites can use code to retrieve your OS’s regional format. By default, Edge shares Limited information, allowing for personalization while balancing privacy concerns.
I will enable this policy through this blog post by selecting the Limited option to activate this setting. The Limited and Always options enable the setting, while the Never option is permanently disabled, preventing access. Choosing Limited allows me to control access while utilizing the features offered.
Table of Contents
What are the Regional Data Display Options on Microsoft Edge for Selecting the Level of Information?
Users have three options on Microsoft Edge to select the level of information their browser will share about their regions:
Limited (0) = Limited
Always (1) = Always share the OS Regional format
Never (2) = Never share the OS Regional format
Enable or Disable Default Share Additional OS Region in MS Edge Browser
When you install Microsoft Edge, it automatically sets your language preferences based on your operating system. You can change these preferences by going to edge://settings/languages and sorting them in order of priority. You can choose a limited default setting, always share your regional information (which is not recommended), or completely block (Never) Edge from sharing any regional data.
| Limited (Default value 0) | Always (Value 1) | Never (Value 2) |
|---|---|---|
| The default value is Limited. It shares regional information only when Edge’s language and the OS’s region are compatible, guaranteeing a unified language experience on websites. | Setting the policy to Always will consistently share the operating system’s regional format. However, if the OS language differs from Microsoft Edge’s display language, this may cause issues on websites. It can also create compatibility issues, showing inconsistent languages and formats. For these reasons, this setting is not recommended. | You can stop your operating system from sharing regional information by choosing the Never option. This option lets websites see general regional information but hides specific settings you’ve made for your region. Instead, the browser will use your preferred display language to set a default region. |
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To manage the default share additional OS region setting in Microsoft Edge browser across your organization, you can use the Microsoft 365 admin center. Begin by navigating to the Settings section. From there, select Microsoft Edge, then Configuration Policies, and finally, click + Create Policy.
Basics
When creating a new policy, the Basics section must define its primary properties. These include a mandatory Name to identify the policy and an optional Description that provides a helpful framework for future reference. You’ll also specify the Policy Type and Platform to ensure the policy applies correctly.
| Name | Description | Policy Type | Platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| Default share additional OS region setting | This policy lets administrators pre-set the ‘share additional operating system region’ option in Microsoft Edge. | Cloud | Windows 10 and 11 |
Settings
The Settings feature lets administrators fine-tune Edge’s performance and features to align with organizational security and productivity standards. Click + Add Setting.
Configure a Setting
After clicking on + Settings, the Configure a Setting window opens, where you can browse different categories of Edge settings. A new pop-up appears when you select a specific setting, such as DefaultShareAdditionalOSREgionSetting under Additional settings. This pop-up provides tabs for configuring the setting’s value and accessing More Details about its function.
Value
In this policy, there are three options available in the Value section. Look at the below list to know more about available values in DefaultShareAdditionalOSREgionSetting.
- Limited (0) = The default value is Limited
- Always (1) = Always share the OS Regional format (not recommended)
- Never (2) = Never share the OS Regional format
I select the Limited option here because I want to enable this setting. Limited and Always are enabled settings; the Never option always disables this setting.
More Details
The More Details section provides detailed information about the selected policy settings. The screenshot below illustrates the information displayed on the More Details tab. After a thorough review, click Select to proceed.
Note: Table 1 will precisely explain the More Details section.
Upon clicking the Select button, a notification confirms that the policy has been successfully updated. However, the data will not be saved until reviewed and saved in the Finish step.
- Click Next
Extensions
The Extensions page within the Microsoft 365 Admin Center allows administrators to manage default browser extensions. While admins can add specific extensions using the +Add extension option, this step is optional. For policy creation purposes, managing default extensions is not a mandatory requirement. So, simply proceed to the next step by clicking Next.
Assignments
The Assignments section is important for assigning Edge policies to specific user groups. Click on +Select group to choose from available Microsoft Entra Groups. Selecting the right group is essential to complete your policy.
- Here, I select Test_HTMD_Policy as group
Once you select a group in the Assignments section, a notification will confirm that the group is added to the policy. However, this selection is not saved until you finish the policy in the Finish step. Since the policy type is Cloud, this group was created for testing purposes.
Finish
The Finish tab is where we can review the new policy before finalizing it. We can see a summary of all the settings, assignments, and basic details defined earlier. This is the last chance to check the policy. This step checks the settings and gets the policy ready for deployment.
- If changes need to be made, use the Back button to go to the previous steps.
- After confirming everything is correct, click Review and Create to finalize the policy.
Once you click Review and Create, the Microsoft 365 admin center will show a confirmation message indicating that the policy has been successfully created and deployed. We can verify the policy’s existence and details by going to the Configuration Policies section within the Microsoft Edge settings. The newly created policy will be visible in this section.
- Settings > Microsoft Edge > Configuration Policies > search for the created policy
End Result of DefaultShareAdditionalOSREgionSetting
To check if the new policy is working, look at the settings in the Microsoft Edge browser. Click the three dots (…) in the top-right corner of the window to open the Settings and More menu. Then, go to the Language section to see if the policy changes have been applied successfully.
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Author
Anoop C Nair has been Microsoft MVP for 10 consecutive years from 2015 onwards. He is a Workplace Solution Architect with more than 22+ years of experience in Workplace technologies. He is a Blogger, Speaker, and Local User Group Community leader. His primary focus is on Device Management technologies like SCCM and Intune. He writes about technologies like Intune, SCCM, Windows, Cloud PC, Windows, Entra, Microsoft Security, Career, etc.