Microsoft Edge Canary Tests Renaming Favorites to Bookmarks

What Was Spotted in Edge Canary​

The terminology shift was highlighted on X by Leo Varela, who monitors experimental changes across Chromium-based browsers. In the tested Canary configuration, references to Edge's Favorites—including the Favorites bar—are relabeled as Bookmarks. Varela suggested the change is likely intended to make the browser feel more familiar to users transitioning from Google Chrome to Microsoft Edge.

For regular Windows 10 and Windows 11 users, it is worth keeping a key distinction in mind: this is a user-interface naming test, not a removal of the toolbar or a change to how saved webpages behave. Even in the current stable version of Edge, clicking the star icon in the address bar and pinning links to the top bar produces a layout and workflow that are nearly indistinguishable from Chrome and other Chromium browsers. Microsoft Support's own documentation for Edge already defines Favorites simply as "saved websites, bookmarks, and webpages," showing that Microsoft has long treated the two terms as synonymous in its help guides.

It is also important to remember how Microsoft’s preview pipeline works. As detailed on the Microsoft Edge Blog, the Canary channel is generated nightly as a bleeding-edge testbed used to validate early feature work. Microsoft frequently runs A/B tests and experimental tweaks in Canary that never graduate to the Dev, Beta, or Stable channels, and the company has not formally announced a rollout schedule or confirmed whether "Bookmarks" will permanently replace "Favorites" for all users.

Market Share Realities and the Chrome Standard​

Why would Microsoft bother retiring a naming convention it has used for thirty years? The answer comes down to friction and market share. While tech enthusiasts on forums and Reddit frequently point out that modern Edge is built on the same Chromium engine as Chrome, Windows Central notes that many everyday users still associate Edge with the sluggish reputation of Internet Explorer or simply view Chrome as the default standard for the web.

According to Statcounter figures cited by Windows Central, Google Chrome commands 66.36% of the global browser market, sitting comfortably ahead of Apple’s Safari at 18.27% and Microsoft Edge in third place at 6.04%. On mobile devices, Edge’s footprint is even smaller. When two-thirds of the browsing public is conditioned to look for a "Bookmarks" menu and a "Bookmarks bar," maintaining a separate brand term for the exact same feature offers very little strategic upside. Over the past couple of years, as noted by outlets such as XDA Developers, Microsoft has similarly experimented with tidying up Edge's settings pages to more closely mirror Chrome's layout.

What This Means for Your Saved Links and IT Admins​

Whether Microsoft keeps the "Favorites" moniker or switches to "Bookmarks" in a future stable release, the underlying mechanics of managing, backing up, and syncing your saved sites remain unchanged.

According to Microsoft Learn documentation, you can manage and back up your saved links at any time using the built-in management tools:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + O in Microsoft Edge (or navigate to Settings and more (...) > Favorites) to open the management flyout.
2. Select More options (...) in the Favorites window and choose Open favorites page to organize folders or right-click to sort items alphabetically by name.
3. To create a local backup, press Ctrl + Shift + O, click More options (...), and select Export favorites to save an HTML file (formatted by default as favorites_month_day_year.html) that can be imported into any browser.

For enterprise administrators managing Edge across Windows fleets, Microsoft Learn’s enterprise sync documentation confirms that cloud synchronization of saved links across signed-in devices (supported on Chromium-based Edge version 77 and later) and Group Policy controls—such as SyncTypesListDisabled, ForceSync, and RoamingProfileSupportEnabled—operate at the data-type level. A cosmetic string change in the user interface does not alter profile storage, cloud sync boundaries, or existing HTML import and export compatibility.

Takeaway​

• The Change: Microsoft is testing a UI wording update in Edge Canary that renames "Favorites" to "Bookmarks".
• The Purpose: Observers note the tweak brings Edge’s vocabulary directly in line with Google Chrome, reducing friction for users switching browsers.
• The Status: The rename has only been spotted in the experimental Canary channel; Microsoft has not confirmed if or when it will reach the Stable release.
• Practical Impact: None of the actual functionality is disappearing—your saved links, toolbar, Ctrl + Shift + O shortcut, HTML backups, and Microsoft Entra or personal account sync continue to work exactly the same way.