Microsoft is seemingly looking to add an integrated VPN (Virtual Private Network) to its Edge browser. A company blog post details the new Microsoft Edge Secure Network feature, which was developed in partnership with internet services provider Cloudflare. The feature will be initially deployed in Preview form, and isn't currently available in Canary and Dev releases of the browser.

According to Microsoft, Secure Network for Edge aims to increase users' security as they browse through unprotected - or less-than-ideally-protected - networks. In a day and age where hacking (in its various forms) is a daily occurrence, the company aims to help Edge users access the World Wide Web through what it describes as an encrypted, secure network. And if the partnership with Cloudflare pricked your ears at possible data collection issues, you can apparently rest assured: Cloudflare says it will only keep the required diagnostic and support data for a period of 25 hours after the last log-off. Do remember that the Edge sign-in requirement means that more of your data will be made available to Microsoft. But considering the added security and ease of use of a browser-embedded VPN and the increased privacy from all other data collection agents, most users will likely feature a net gain in privacy.