Re: Can anyone get Edge Copilot to work without logging in after July 2026?

Andy Burns wrote:
>> Can anyone get Edge Copilot to work without logging in after July 2026?
>>    https://copilot.microsoft.com/
> 
> I can chat to it within Edge (but not signed in by MSA) and within the 
> Winn11 Copilot app (again not signed-in) but that URL wants a sign-in by 
> microsoft, apple or google ...

Hi Andy,

This is a big deal, IMHO, because Microsoft DID NOT DOCUMENT this anywhere.

A lot of people "think" they're not signed in, but a lot of them are.
AFAIK, Windows 11 Copilot always requires identity
It just inherits your Windows sign-in identity silently.
 a. Either with a sign into Windows with an MSA
 b. Or with a local account + PIN + an MSA added in Settings

But I could be wrong as I don't use Windows 11, so I will defer to others.

On Win10, up until about a week or two ago, I could just point Edge to 
   https://copilot.microsoft.com/
And it asked me to log in, but I brushed it away, and it worked.

Every once in a while (about ever ten turns or so), it asked again.
And I just brushed it away. This, I've been doing, for many months.

But only recently, it requires me to log in (unless I use the sidebar).
  <https://i.postimg.cc/brVq8DKH/copilot-sidebar.jpg>
You say you use the "Windows 11 copilot app", but that's not on Win10.

Looking it up, apparently there are 5  ways to run Copilot on Windows
a. Windows 11 has all 5
b. Windows 10 has 3 of the 5

As far as I can find out by searching, these are the five ways:
1. Copilot in the Edge sidebar (Windows 10 & 11)
   (this is what I'm currently using which does not require an account)
2. Copilot at copilot.microsoft.com (Windows 10 & 11)
   (on the Firefox group, nobody can get this to work anymore sans login)
3. Copilot in Microsoft 365 apps (Windows 10 & 11)
   (for those on 365 subscriptions, requires Entra ID only)
4. Copilot built into Windows (Windows 11 only)
   (this seems to be what you're using without needing to log into it)
5. Copilot key on new keyboards (Windows 11 only)	 
   (but all it does is bring up the built-in copilot on Windows 11)

So, based on number 4 above (and number 5), you're probably using that.
But it's my understanding, all but the first one need an account.
 a. Either an MSA (or PIN, according to Paul's posts)
 b. Or EntraID (previously Azure AD)
 c. When I go to https://copilot.microsoft.com/, it says... 
    a. Sign in to Copilot
       Upload files, use Voice without limits, and make Copilot
       yours with memory across conversations.
    b. Sign in with Microsoft
    c. Sign in with Apple (who passes a token to Microsoft)
    d. Sign in with Google (who also passes a token to Microsoft)

As far as I can tell, only the Edge browser allows the Edge sidebar.
AFAICT, Microsoft still allows the sidebar to operate without identity.

But I'm not aware of any other way to run Edge w/o an identity.
Are you sure there is no identity being used when you use Win11 Copilot?

> I find it knows a lot about eyesight issues, and has more time for 
> giving detailed explanations than my optician does ..

It's pretty good with pool chemistry also. 

I posted a long 22-turn chat, for example, on the Firefox newsgroup.
 Newsgroups: alt.comp.software.firefox
 Subject: Re: Recently, did your Firefox stop using Microsoft Copilot in anonymous mode?
 Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2026 17:46:02 -0700
 Message-ID: <[email protected]>
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