As of yesterday, that’s no longer the case. You can now download Adguard free of charge from the Windows Store. It has the same features as in other browsers:
“Blocks all ads including: Video ads (including YouTube video ads) Rich media advertising like video ads interstitial ads and floating ads Unwanted pop-ups Banners and text ads (including Facebook advertisements) Speeds up page loading and saves bandwidth, thanks to the missing ads and pop up windows Blocks many spyware, adware and dialer installers (optional) Protects your privacy by blocking common third-party tracking systems (optional) Protects you from malware and phishing (optional)”
The release comes from months of development following the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. The upgrade introduced extensions to Edge for the first time, and Adblock was very quick to adapt.
Thanks to Microsoft
Adguards development has taken noticeably longer than its competitors, but the team has been working closely with Microsoft to reach completion. In a written statement, Adguard said: “We want to thank Microsoft for making it possible to provide Edge users with Adguard protection! Particularly we want to thank the Edge team, it was great and easy to work with them. They provided us an invaluable assistance, responding quickly to changes during development. We call on all developers to follow us and create more cool extensions for Windows Store!” Microsoft authorizes Edge extensions on a personal level, so Adguard’s inclusion is a big deal. We can only hope that the positive experience will lead to a Windows 10 Mobile app, a possibility the developer has noted already.