You sit down at the family PC and a red warning slides into the corner of the screen: your computer is infected, act now. You dismiss it. Ten minutes later another one appears, even though no suspicious page is open. That is classic edge notifications spam, and it can trace back to one click on Allow that nobody in the house remembers.
The cure is simple: find the site responsible and take away its permission. Edge 156, which rolled out in October, also switches some of these sites off by itself, so your job may be limited to cleaning up whatever it misses.
What causes edge notifications spam
Website notifications are a normal browser feature. A site asks for permission, you agree, and from then on it can message you directly, including after its page has been closed. Microsoft says scammers now abuse that channel to deliver phony virus warnings and bogus security alerts, each one a fresh attempt to pull you back to a scam page.
The permission request is usually where the trick happens. A page might claim you have to prove you are human, or invent some other small task, and the button it steers you toward is really the Allow option. Anyone rushing through a page can fall for that, from a teenager hunting for a game download to a grandparent reading the news.
Many readers make edge notifications spam worse by treating the alert like a real emergency. Leave its buttons alone, apart from the one menu covered below. These alerts are built to confuse, and Microsoft warns that pressing the wrong spot can simply spawn more pop-up windows.
What you need before you start
You have nothing to install or buy to clear up edge notifications spam. Which route you take depends on what is on your screen right now.
| Your situation | Best route |
|---|---|
| An alert is showing right now | The … menu on the alert |
| You have the guilty site open in Edge | View site information in the address bar |
| Alerts keep coming and you want a full cleanup | All sites in Edge settings |
You do want Edge 156 or newer, since that release brought the automatic blocking described further down.
3 ways to stop edge notifications spam
From the alert itself
This is the quickest route, because you can act the moment an alert lands.
- Find the … menu on the notification and select it.
- Choose the option that turns off future notifications from that site.
- Ignore every other button on the alert.
From the address bar
Use this when you know the culprit and have it open in a tab, though we would not revisit a page you suspect is a scam just to do this. The settings route below avoids that.
- Select View site information, the lock icon on the left side of the address bar.
- Look under Permissions for this site for the Notifications entry.
- Pick Block from the drop-down menu.
Blocked a site you actually like? Come back to the same spot and pick Allow.
From Edge settings
This is the one to use on a shared computer, since you can go through every site without opening any of them. It follows the steps on Microsoft’s notifications help page.
- Open Settings and more, the menu at the top right of Edge.
- Go to Settings, then Privacy, search, and services.
- Open Site permissions, then All sites.
- Select the website you want to shut off.
- Find the Notifications setting and choose Block.
Take a slow look down that list. A strange web address you do not recognize is a fair suspect for your edge notifications spam, and blocking the wrong one costs you nothing because the setting can be reversed.
What Edge 156 now does on its own
Microsoft Defender SmartScreen and Scareware blocker are the two safety systems fighting edge notifications spam behind the scenes. If either one catches a scam that arrived through a notification, Edge now cuts off notifications from the site that sent it, with no action from you.
You will hear about it when you next open the browser. A bar across the window carries this message: “Microsoft Edge blocked notifications from a suspicious site in your last session.” You still have the final say. Edge Settings lists the affected sites, and you can restore any that were caught by mistake.
Scareware blocker has been on by default on qualifying PCs for a little more than a year. Microsoft said in 2025 that the feature was switched on for most Windows and Mac devices, and that its on-device model needs four CPU cores and over 2 GB of RAM.
How to report a shady notification request
The best moment to beat edge notifications spam is before it begins. When a site asks permission to send you notifications, open the small menu beside Block and select Block and report. Your report can carry the address of the page plus a screenshot of the lure it used.
That extra step helps other households too. Microsoft’s preview figures suggest one report can help shield around 50 other people. Teach this one to the kids, along with the rule that a page should never need notification access to prove you are a real person.
Scams do not stop at the PC, either. If someone in the family carries an Android phone, show them how to check if a text is a scam with Circle to Search.
Limits and what Microsoft has not said
Automatic blocking only kicks in after a scam has been detected, so some edge notifications spam will still get through. That is why the manual routes above matter. Blocking notifications also does nothing for ordinary pop-ups, which Edge treats as a separate setting.
Microsoft’s post does not list which PCs count as qualifying, and it does not say whether the automatic blocking reaches Edge on phones.
Frequently asked questions about Edge alerts
Are Edge notifications a virus?
Not necessarily. Microsoft says scammers use ordinary website notifications to deliver fake virus warnings, so a scary alert can simply come from a site that was given permission. Block that site and leave the buttons on the alert alone.
Why do Edge notifications keep popping up after I close the site?
Because the permission stays in place after the page closes. A site you allowed can keep contacting you until you block it, so closing the tab alone will not end the alerts.
Can I undo a block if Edge stops a site I trust?
Yes. Edge Settings lists the sites with blocked notifications, and you can unblock any of them there. A site you blocked yourself can also be set back to Allow.
Should you clean up your Edge site permissions tonight?
If anyone at home has seen a fake alert, yes. Open All sites, block anything unfamiliar and show the family the Block and report option. If your only alerts come from services you trust, you can skip the audit and let Edge 156 stand guard against edge notifications spam. One careless Allow should not earn a stranger a permanent spot on your screen.
