# Microsoft Edge Collections Is Gone: How to Get Your Pages Back (and What to Use Instead) > Microsoft removed Collections in Edge 149. Here’s where your saved pages went, how to get them back, the unofficial flag that restores the feature for now, and what to use instead. - Author: Marius Bongarts - Published: 2026-10-07 - Updated: 2026-10-07 - Tags: Chrome Extension, Reading - Reading time: 5 min - URL: https://web-highlights.com/blog/microsoft-edge-collections-removed/ --- If you opened Edge one day this summer and the Collections button was simply gone, you’re not alone. Microsoft Q&A and Reddit filled up with the same question in June: where did all my saved pages go? **Short answer:** Microsoft removed Collections in Microsoft Edge 149, released on June 4, 2026. Your pages aren’t necessarily lost — depending on what you did before the update, they’re in a Favorites folder, at bing.com/saves, or in an export file. The notes and images you added to Collections did not survive the move to Favorites. I build a browser extension that runs in Edge, so I followed this one closely. Below is where your Collections went, how to get them back, the unofficial workaround that brings the feature back for now, and what I’d use instead. **Key takeaways** - Collections stopped accepting new items in Edge 145 and was removed in Edge 149 (June 4, 2026). - “Move to Favorites” kept only the page links. Notes, images and other non-page items were not moved. - Personal Microsoft accounts can still see synced Collections at bing.com/saves. - A command-line flag brings the old Collections pane back for now, but it’s unofficial and can break with any update. - For saving pages _with_ your notes, use a tool that keeps them together — I show how to move your old Collections into one below. ## What happened to Collections in Microsoft Edge? Microsoft retired it in steps. Edge started showing a retirement banner inside Collections early in 2026. From Edge 145 you could no longer add new items. Then the [Edge 149 release notes](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/deployedge/microsoft-edge-relnote-archive-stable-channel) said Collections “have been removed in this update” and that users “can no longer access or use the feature.” Collections wasn’t the only casualty. The same release retired the sidebar app list for enterprise users, and Edge 152 retired Drop. Microsoft’s one-line explanation for that cleanup: “We’re simplifying Microsoft Edge.” Several tech outlets connect it to Edge’s shift toward Copilot, but Microsoft hasn’t said more than that. Microsoft’s own [Collections support page](https://support.microsoft.com/en-US/edge/organize-your-ideas-with-collections-in-microsoft-edge) now opens with the same news: Collections is no longer available starting with Edge version 149. ## Where are my saved Collections now? There are three places to look, depending on your account and what you clicked before the update. ### 1\. In your Favorites Before the removal, Collections showed a **Move to Favorites** button. If you used it, each collection became a folder in your Favorites. Open the Favorites pane (Ctrl + Shift + O) and look for folders named like your old collections. The catch: Microsoft moved only the saved web pages. Images, notes and other non-page items were not moved. If your collections were mostly links, you’re fine. If they were research boards full of notes, those notes are gone from Edge. ### 2\. At bing.com/saves (personal Microsoft accounts) If you were signed in to Edge with a personal Microsoft account, Microsoft says your saved Collections are still visible at **bing.com/saves**. You can’t add to them from Edge anymore, but you can open them there and copy what you need. That’s probably why searches for “Bing Saves” nearly tripled in June. ### 3\. In an export file (work or school accounts) Work and school accounts got an **Export your data** option, which saved Collections as a CSV file. Before that, you could also send a collection to Excel, Word or OneNote. If you or your IT team did either, look for that file in your Documents or Downloads folder. One honest warning: in a [Microsoft Q&A thread from June 11](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-nz/answers/questions/5918210/ms-edge-collections-missing-lots-of-separate-colle), a user reports that several collections were missing from both the CSV export and Bing Saves. If something you remember isn’t in any of the three places, it may be gone for good. ## Can I get Collections back in Edge? Officially, no. Unofficially, for now, yes. People found that starting Edge with a command-line flag brings the old Collections pane back: ``` --disable-features=msEdgeCollectionsUnship ``` Techdows has a [step-by-step guide](https://techdows.com/how-to-restore-collections-in-microsoft-edge-149-and-later-versions.html) with screenshots. The short version for Windows: 1. Turn off **Startup boost** and **Continue running background extensions and apps** in `edge://settings/system`. Otherwise Windows reuses an Edge process that started without the flag. 2. Right-click your Edge shortcut → **Properties** → **Shortcut** tab. 3. In **Target**, add one space after the closing quote and paste the flag, so it ends in `msedge.exe" --disable-features=msEdgeCollectionsUnship`. 4. Close every Edge window, then start Edge from that shortcut. Collections is back under More tools (Ctrl + Shift + Y). Two things to know before you rely on it. It only shows Collections data that still exists in your profile — it can’t bring back anything that was deleted. And Microsoft can remove the remaining code in any update. Edge now ships a new major version every two weeks, so I’d use the flag for one thing only: getting your notes and links out while you still can. ## What can replace Edge Collections? It depends on what you used Collections for. - **Just a pile of links?** Favorites does the job. It syncs across devices and folders work fine. - **Free-form notes and clippings?** OneNote is the closest Microsoft tool. You lose the “save this page in one click while browsing” part, though. - **Saving pages and keeping your thoughts next to them?** That’s what Collections did best, and it’s exactly what I built Web Highlights for. ### What is Web Highlights? [Web Highlights](https://web-highlights.com/) is a free browser extension I built, used by hundreds of thousands of people. It’s in the [Microsoft Edge Add-ons store](https://microsoftedge.microsoft.com/addons/detail/web-highlights-pdf-we/ghdpaajjhmlfkogblgeibaabcpjfgldn) (and for Chrome and Firefox). You save a page in one click, highlight the parts that matter in different colors, and write notes right on the highlight or on the page. Every page lands in one searchable library. Funny enough, Web Highlights calls its folders [Collections](https://web-highlights.com/docs/features/collections) too — with sub-folders, drag-and-drop and tags on top. The difference to Edge’s version: your notes stay attached to the exact sentence you wrote them about, and they work on PDFs opened in Edge as well. ## How do I move my old Collections into Web Highlights? If your Collections ended up in Favorites, this takes about five minutes: 1. **Export your Favorites.** In Edge, open the three-dot menu → **Favorites** → three-dot menu in the Favorites pane → **Export favorites**, and save the HTML file. Here’s the [full Edge export guide](https://web-highlights.com/tutorials/browser/edge/how-to-export-bookmarks) with every click. 2. **Install Web Highlights** from the [install page](https://web-highlights.com/extensions/pdf-web-highlighter/install). No account needed to start. 3. **Import the file.** Open **Settings → Integrations → Import browser bookmarks** and upload the HTML file ([docs](https://web-highlights.com/docs/integrations/bookmark-import-chrome)). 4. **Sort them again.** The import flattens browser folders, so move pages into collections or give them tags. I’d only do this for the collections you still care about. Your old Collections notes are a different story. If you got them out — via the flag, Bing Saves or a OneNote export — paste them into a page note in Web Highlights so they sit next to the page again. There’s no automatic import for them, and I don’t want to pretend there is. More detail on the bookmark import, with screenshots, is in [how to export bookmarks and import them into Web Highlights](https://web-highlights.com/blog/how-to-export-bookmarks-and-import-to-web-highlights/). ## What won’t Web Highlights do? Better you hear it from me than find out after switching: - It doesn’t read Microsoft’s Collections CSV export. Favorites (as HTML) is the way in. - It can’t recover notes or images Microsoft didn’t move to Favorites. - Syncing your library across devices is the paid part, after a 7-day free trial. Highlighting, notes and your library on one device stay free. - No Safari extension and no iPhone app yet. On Android there’s an app; on iPhone you use the web app. ## So what should you do now? First, rescue what’s left: check your Favorites, then bing.com/saves, then any export file. If something important is missing, try the flag while it still works and copy your notes out. Then pick a home that won’t be “simplified” away next year. If you want your pages and your notes in one place, give [Web Highlights](https://web-highlights.com/extensions/pdf-web-highlighter/install) a try on the next article you read in Edge. You’ll know in a minute whether it fits. I’m happy to answer questions, and I’m open to criticism 😊 You can reach me on [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/marius-bongarts-6b3638171/) or [Twitter](https://twitter.com/MariusBongarts). ## Frequently asked questions ### Why did Microsoft remove Collections from Edge? Microsoft hasn’t given a detailed reason. Collections was removed in Edge 149 (June 4, 2026) as part of a cleanup that also retired the sidebar app list for enterprise users and, in Edge 152, Drop. The release notes describe it as simplifying Microsoft Edge. ### Can I recover my Edge Collections after updating? Often, yes. If you clicked Move to Favorites, each collection is now a Favorites folder (links only). Personal Microsoft accounts can see synced Collections at bing.com/saves. Work and school accounts could export a CSV file. Notes and images that weren’t exported can’t be recovered. ### Does Move to Favorites keep my notes? No. Microsoft moved only the saved web pages. Images, notes and other non-page items were not moved to Favorites. ### Is there a way to bring Collections back in Edge? Unofficially. Starting Edge with the flag --disable-features=msEdgeCollectionsUnship (with Startup boost turned off) brings the old Collections pane back for now. It only shows data still in your profile, and Microsoft can remove it in any update.