It looks like Microsoft is preparing to permanently remove the Drop feature from the Edge browser. Some users running the latest Edge Canary build are now seeing a deprecation banner right inside the Drop pane. The warning leaves no room for interpretation and simply states that the tool is being retired.

Browser sleuth Leopeva64 spotted the change today and shared a screenshot of the new banner on X.

I checked my own Edge Canary installation (v151.0.4103.0) right after seeing the tweet and actually didn’t get the pop-up myself. So Microsoft might only be showing the disclaimer to some users.

Drop acts as a highly convenient cross-device clipboard and file-sharing hub. You open the panel on your desktop to type quick notes or drag in large images, and those items instantly appear in the Edge mobile app on your phone. You don’t need to email yourself links or rely on third-party messaging apps like WhatsApp. Everything syncs securely and privately through your existing Microsoft account.

The timing of this shutdown feels especially brutal for fans of the browser. Android Police published a glowing article just three days ago calling Drop a brilliant option. Their tech writer actually credited this specific sharing tool as the single reason they finally abandoned Google Chrome for Edge. But apparently Microsoft obviously disagrees about the long-term value of the feature and wants it gone.

It also follows the aggressive housecleaning we’ve seen over the last few weeks on Edge. Microsoft recently wiped out the Sidebar app list and the Collections feature to streamline the interface. The company explicitly stated they want to simplify the browser for everyday users. And by simplify, they mean they want to clear out older utilities to make room for their Copilot AI assistant, the star of the show.

Some power users did manage to revive those other dead tools recently. We covered a handy workaround using command-line flags to restore the Sidebar app list and Collections. You just add specific text to the Edge desktop shortcut properties to force the browser to ignore the retirement mandates. We don’t know yet if a similar backdoor flag will exist for Drop once Microsoft pulls the plug on the stable release.

Drop relies heavily on standard OneDrive storage to hold and sync your shared items. Microsoft makes the transition plan clear in the notice. Files you previously sent across devices will remain safely saved in your OneDrive account. Text notes require a bit more effort. Users must manually click a provided link in the banner to download those typed snippets separately before losing access.

We expect Drop to officially vanish in an upcoming stable update very soon. People who rely heavily on this built-in sharing utility will need to back up their text notes right now. Microsoft clearly expects everyone to rely on external web apps or standard cloud folders from now on.

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