Collections Retired: Microsoft Edge Sunsets Research Tool Amid Data Loss Fears

Users enrolled in the Microsoft Edge Dev Channel may have recently encountered a notification that Microsoft intends to sunset the Collections feature, preventing users from adding new content to existing repositories. To safeguard their data, users are advised to migrate saved pages to the Favorites or Bookmarks bar, but this transfer only keeps hyperlinks, with imagery or annotations unable to be moved.

Those who have curated notes and images must export their data to CSV documents for offline preservation, and failure to secure these assets promptly will result in permanent deletion from Microsoft’s servers. The feature, originally launched in 2020 to aggregate web pages, notes and media, will thus be retired with no formal public proclamation or timetable issued by Microsoft, leaving users to export archives ahead of time.

Following the cessation, there is reportedly no direct equivalent, and the interpretation of exported CSV data may prove challenging, though AI-driven tools might offer some processing options.