What Stashback tells you
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| This file is empty | The file has 0 bytes. It is almost always collectionsSQLite-journal, a helper file beside the real one. | Choose collectionsSQLite, the file next to it. |
| This file holds no collections | The database opened and its tables are there, with no collections in them. On our own Windows 11 PC with Edge 156 the Default profile's file was like this on October 27, 2026. | Work through the list below. |
| Edge kept only the names of some collections here | The file lists collection names but none of their pages. Those pages were kept online. | Open Bing Saves with a personal Microsoft account. |
Where your pages can be, in order
- Another Edge profile on this PC. Collections belong to the profile where you made them. Look in the Profile 1 and Profile 2 folders next to Default. Which profile is which shows how to tell.
- Another computer. The file holds what Edge kept on the computer it is on. If you mostly used Collections on a different PC, copy the folder from there.
- Bing Saves. Microsoft says "only MSA users can see their previously saved collections at https://bing.com/saves", where MSA means a personal Microsoft account (Organize your ideas with Collections in Microsoft Edge). A work or school account will not show anything there. If the page will not open, see Bing Saves not working.
- Favorites. If you clicked "Move to Favorites" when Edge offered it, each collection is a folder in your Favorites now. Only the pages moved: Microsoft says "Images, notes, and other non-page items aren't included" (Organize your ideas with Collections in Microsoft Edge).
- An earlier version of the file. A Microsoft support specialist answered a user whose collections vanished after syncing (August 2023) that "If you haven't previously synced your data, it may not be possible to retrieve it", and suggested checking whether the Collections database has previous versions to restore (lost collections in edge after syncing (August 24, 2023)). In File Explorer, right-click the Collections folder, choose Properties and look for a Previous Versions tab. It only has entries if Windows kept restore points or File History was on, so an empty tab is common. A backup program that includes your AppData folder is the other place to look.
- Your IT team, if the account is a work or school one. Microsoft offered "Export Your Data" to those accounts in Edge versions that still showed the Collections pane (Organize your ideas with Collections in Microsoft Edge).
What not to do first
Do not sign out of Edge, clear browsing data, reset the profile or delete the profile folder until you have copied the Collections folder. The accepted answer in an older Microsoft Q&A thread (April 2023) copies the Collections folder to a new profile first, and only then signs out and clears the device's data (My collections have disappeared, how do I recover them? (February 12, 2023)). Without that copy, those steps would remove what the PC holds. Work on a copy, and keep the original untouched.
Many people are in the same place. The Microsoft Q&A thread "How do I recover all of my Collections in Microsoft Edge?" (June 2026) is tagged "Same question" by more than 80 people (How do I recover all of my Collections in Microsoft Edge? (June 5, 2026)). If the pages are in none of the places above, Microsoft lists no way to bring them back.
Open your Collections file
Choose the collectionsSQLite file from your Edge profile folder: every collection appears with its pages, notes and pictures, and you can save it all as a bookmarks file or a spreadsheet. Free, and nothing is uploaded.
Questions
Why does Stashback say my Collections file is empty?
Either you picked the empty helper file collectionsSQLite-journal, or the database has no collections in it because Edge kept nothing on this computer. Check the other profile folders and Bing Saves.
Edge kept only the names of my collections. Where are the pages?
Online. Microsoft says personal Microsoft accounts can see their previously saved collections at bing.com/saves. Stashback lists the names so you know what to look for there.
Can I get Edge Collections back?
Not the Collections pane: Microsoft removed it in Edge 149. Your saved pages can still be in another profile, another computer, Bing Saves or Favorites, and Stashback saves what the file holds as bookmarks.
Sources: Microsoft Support: Organize your ideas with Collections in Microsoft Edge; Microsoft Q&A: lost collections in edge after syncing (August 24, 2023); Microsoft Q&A: My collections have disappeared, how do I recover them? (February 12, 2023); Microsoft Q&A: How do I recover all of my Collections in Microsoft Edge? (June 5, 2026). Last checked: October 28, 2026. Stashback is an independent tool by Peak Apps Studio and is not affiliated with Microsoft, Google, Mozilla or Apple.