What Microsoft changed
Microsoft's help page for Collections now opens with a short notice. In Microsoft's words:
- "Collections is no longer available starting with Microsoft Edge version 149, released on June 04th, 2026."
- From Edge 145: "You can no longer add new pages to Collections." and "Existing Collections and saved items are still accessible."
- Why: "we are retiring Collections in Edge, to better simplify our offerings."
So the change came in two steps. With Edge 145 the Collections pane still opened, showed a notice and offered two buttons, "Move to Favorites" and "Export Your Data". With Edge 149 the pane itself is gone. Edge updates itself, so most people met the second step without doing anything (Organize your ideas with Collections in Microsoft Edge).
The four places your items can be now
| If you | Look here | What is there |
|---|---|---|
| Clicked "Move to Favorites" when Edge offered it | Edge Favorites, one folder per collection | The saved web pages only. Microsoft says images, notes and other non-page items were not moved. |
| Used Edge signed in with a personal Microsoft account | bing.com/saves | Your collections, shown online. Microsoft lists no export for personal accounts. |
| Used Edge on this computer (any account) | The collectionsSQLite file in your Edge profile folder | Whatever Edge kept on this computer: pages, notes, clipped text and pictures, or for some synced accounts only the collection names. |
| Used a work or school account | The Collections pane's "Export Your Data", if your Edge still shows it, or your IT team | Microsoft offers that export to work and school accounts only. |
Open the file Edge left behind
The database file is the one place that can still hold your notes and pictures as well as the pages. Updating to Edge 149 does not delete it on the computers we have seen: on our own Windows 11 PC running Edge 156, the Collections folder and its collectionsSQLite file were still in the profile folder on October 27, 2026. The same file name and its tables are listed in the forensics map Windows_EdgeBrowser_Collections.
Stashback opens that file in your browser, shows every collection, and saves them as a bookmarks file that Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge can import, or as a spreadsheet with the notes. Nothing is uploaded.
Make a copy of the file today. Microsoft has not said whether a later Edge update will remove the old data from the profile folder. Close Edge, open %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Edge\User Data\Default\Collections and copy the whole Collections folder to your desktop.
Can I get the Collections pane back?
Not in a supported way. Some guides describe a command-line switch that brings the pane back for a while; Microsoft does not offer it, it does not work for everyone and it can stop working with any update. Saving your items somewhere else is the safer plan.
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
When were Edge Collections removed?
Microsoft says Collections is no longer available starting with Microsoft Edge version 149, released on June 4, 2026. From Edge 145 you could no longer add new pages.
Did Microsoft delete my collections?
Microsoft says personal accounts can still see their collections at bing.com/saves. Edge also keeps a database file called collectionsSQLite in your profile folder, which was still present on our Windows 11 test PC with Edge 156.
Why did Microsoft remove Collections?
Microsoft's help page says: "we are retiring Collections in Edge, to better simplify our offerings."
Sources: Microsoft Support: Organize your ideas with Collections in Microsoft Edge; SQLECmd forensics map: Windows_EdgeBrowser_Collections. Last checked: October 27, 2026. Stashback is an independent tool by Peak Apps Studio and is not affiliated with Microsoft, Google, Mozilla or Apple.