Now, more and more people are using the Edge browser for web browsing, but sometimes you may need to log out of your Microsoft account. The question is, will you lose the data on your local storage device when you log out? This article will answer your doubts and tell you how to retain local data before logging out of your Microsoft account.
Main Text#
When we are unable to log into our account, if we want to log out of the Microsoft account in Edge, we may need to go to the homepage of that account to log out; otherwise, we can only delete the user profile to log out, but this will lead to data loss and require re-logging into some platforms, which is very inconvenient.
However, we can use some other methods to retain data while logging out.
In Windows Explorer, find your user data folder (it is usually located here).
C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Edge\User Data
Generally, your data is stored in the Default folder, as shown in the image:
But sometimes if you have used other user profiles, your data may be in the Profile+Number folder, which you need to choose based on your actual situation.
Note! The following operations may lead to data loss, please back up the relevant data in advance before proceeding!
When you find your data folder, you need to close the Edge browser, and note! You need to close it in the Task Manager, simply closing it is ineffective.
After closing, you need to back up this folder, and once that is done, you can start the logout operation.
In your folder, find these files, as shown in the image:
The following operations may cause you to lose all saved passwords, please export your passwords in advance from the settings before performing this operation. The tutorial for importing and exporting passwords is at the end of the article.
Then delete the Preferences, Login Data-journal, and Login Data files. After returning to the browser, you will find that your data is still there, but your account has been logged out.
After logging into your Microsoft account, you can import your original passwords. Once you complete this step, congratulations, you have successfully logged out of your Microsoft account while retaining local data!
Data Transfer#
This method is also applicable for transferring data; you only need to copy the contents from the user folder you want to transfer and replace the contents in the new user folder. Before this operation, you need to back up the Preferences, Login Data-journal, and Login Data files in the replaced user folder, and after completing the data transfer, move them back, thus completing the data transfer.
Exporting or Importing Passwords#
First, open Edge://settings/passwords or you can go to Settings -> Profiles -> Passwords.
Then, click the three dots on the right in this area, as shown in the image:
Select Export Passwords, and during this step, you may need to verify your identity, just follow the steps.
Finally, save your passwords in a secure place, and when importing passwords later, you will also do it in this area.