MS Edge Webview2 Runtime Installed?

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I’m running Win10 Home 2004, and just found that MS Edge Webview2 Runtime silently installed on my computer this afternoon.  I though you have to download this from MS, and hadn’t heard that it was force installed.  Is this normal for it to install itself without requesting it … I am running the ‘new’ Chredge’.  Is this just some sort of new update being pushed to Edge?

Just wanted to make sure that this is nothing to worry about?  Everything seems to be running fine.

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I thought this was an interesting question, hence google, finding a microsoft doc:

Understanding the WebView2 Runtime

The WebView2 Runtime is a redistributable runtime and serves as the backing web platform for WebView2 apps. The concept is similar to Visual C++ or the .NET Runtime for C++/.NET apps. The Runtime contains modified Microsoft Edge (Chromium) binaries that are fine-tuned and tested for apps. The Runtime does not appear as a user-visible browser upon installation. For example, a user does not have a browser desktop shortcut or start menu entry.

During development and testing, you may use either as the backing web platform.

I would assume this suggests that you must have installed something that uses an Edge runtime function…

1 user thanked author for this post.

Brocktoon

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Richard Merchant wrote:

I would assume this suggests that you must have installed something that uses an Edge runtime function…

That’s what I’m thinking as well, although I haven’t installed anything new in a good long while.  MS Office 2019 (runs off the 365 click-to-run) recently updated along with Edge and and a few other MS apps.  I’m figuring Office or one of the recent updates may have triggered the Webview2 download.

It looks to be the same version as the recently updated Edge and I’m not seeing any issues with computer performance or resource usage, so I’m currently not planning to uninstall or mess with anything

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Brocktoon wrote:

MS Edge Webview2

It is part of Microsoft’s chrEdge. It is also being used by TeamViewer app..

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Brocktoon

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Someone hijack my computer today, and I caught it in progress and turned my computer off.  Then I ran Norton, and I searched for anything new added and found “MS Edge Webview2 runtime” freshly installed.  What’s the connection and should I uninstall it?

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“MS Edge Webview2 runtime” is part of Microsoft Edge. It is not from someone hacking your computer.

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PKCano wrote:

It is not from someone hacking your computer.

Debatable with WaaS and how it’s construed by the end-user.
When the EULA was accepted, ‘the gifts’ from MSFT enter, albeit on a less frequent basis from previous years. Then there’s the exit scenario where a good 3rd party firewall comes in to play.
No Edge = no Webview2

Keeping IT Lean, Clean and Mean!

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Microfix wrote:

No Edge = no Webview2

I have webview2 as part of Edge and as part of Apple’s iCloud.

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Installation and updates for Webview can be disabled using the following Group Policies.

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Microsoft Edge Update > Microsoft Edge Webview

• Enable Allow Installation and set it to Installs disabled.
• Enable Update Policy Override and set it to Updates disabled.

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Microsoft Edge Webview2

• Enable Control communication with… and set it to Disable Communication with…

For those running Win 10 Home, here’s the equivalent registry locations:

The first two policies are located at:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\EdgeUpdate

Create REG_DWORD Install{F3017226-FE2A-4295-8BDF-00C3A9A7E4C5} and set it to
Create REG_DWORD Update{F3017226-FE2A-4295-8BDF-00C3A9A7E4C5} and set it to

The second policy setting is located at:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge\WebView2

Create REG_DWORD Set ExperimentationAndConfigurationServiceControl and set it to

2 users thanked author for this post.

Alex5723, PKCano

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I’m running windows 10 21H2 19044.2251 Pro and I don’t have any of the entries labeled above as “Microsoft Edge Update” nor “Microsoft Edge Webview2” in GPEdit. Could those possibly only exist in Windows 10 22H2 Pro and Windows 11 22H2 Pro, or systems that don’t yet have Webview2 installed?

Under Administrative Templates, I have nothing labeled as Microsoft Edge Update or Microsoft Edge Webview2. HOWEVER, I do have Edge Webview 2 installed and it has the same version number as my installation of Edge.

I’m also lacking the registry locations mentioned above as well. The closest I can come is HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Edge. I have no sub-folders labeled “EdgeUpdate” under the Microsoft folder, nor do I have a folder labeled “Webview2” under the Edge folder in that particular location within the registry.

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Bob99 wrote:

I don’t have any of the entries labeled above as “Microsoft Edge Update” nor “Microsoft Edge Webview2” in GPEdit.

You need the new versions these two Microsoft Edge Policy Templates (msedgeupdate.admx and msedgewebview2.admx) to have those settings.

They can be downloaded from Download Windows 64-bit Policy as a cab file.

To get get them, scroll down to the Download the latest section and click as indicated in the below image.

Since it’s a bit complicated to extract them from the cab that gets downloaded, I’ve attached the ones from my own PC (Win10 22H2 Pro) as a zip file (the MicrosoftEdgePolicyTemplates.zip attachment shown below.)

Download it, extract the contents, and copy the two .admx files to:

     C:\WINDOWS\PolicyDefinitions

And the two .adml files in the en-US folder to:

     C:\WINDOWS\PolicyDefinitions\en-US

Reboot your PC and you should now see those Group Policy settings.

BTW, if you decide to download the cab file from the link, you’ll first need to extract the contents of the cab (which will create a file called MicrosoftEdgePolicyTemplates.zip) and then extract the contents of the zip file.

The above files will be in the MicrosoftEdgePolicyTemplates\windows\admx folder extracted from the zip file and should be copied as indicated above.

Note: the cab file includes templates for multiple languages but, unless you use a language other than English, you won’t need the extra templates.

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Bob99

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Bob99 wrote:

I don’t have any of the entries labeled above as “Microsoft Edge Update” nor “Microsoft Edge Webview2” in GPEdit.

Search for Webview2 with portable Everything app.

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Sorry, Alex, but the real answer is in the reply above yours, from @alejr. I wasn’t looking for a plug for a utility that I don’t need.

@alejr included the real reason why I am not seeing the entries he mentioned in his earlier post, as well as instructions on how to remedy the situation, should I choose to do so.

I’m very competent with using GPEdit, and I know just what I’m looking at every time I use it. With the instructions provided by @alejr in his earlier post, I found no key at the VERY specific location he mentioned, so I don’t need a utility to do the dirty work for me. I’m more than capable of using the tools built into GPEdit to find most anything I’m looking for within GPEdit very quickly should I think that I’ve overlooked something.

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