A look at Microsoft Edge's move to trim user-agent strings and the tools now available for testing and querying them.
Source material: whatismybrowser.com
As of an Aug 14, 2026 update, Microsoft Edge is following Chromium's move to reduce and freeze user-agent strings. The change, first prepared for Chrome, means Edge's UA strings will carry less identifying detail over time. The update notes that because Chromium-based browsers have started trimming their UA strings, Edge is adopting the same adjustments. Developers relying on UA parsing will need to account for the shorter, more generic strings as Edge and other Chromium browsers transition.
The Chrome fragments embedded in Edge user-agent strings are real Chrome version numbers, but they don't correspond to the actual Chrome version any given Edge build is 'pretending to be.' There is currently no way to map the exact Chrome version for a particular Edge release. The numbers are genuine Chrome versions, so most websites will be fooled, but the mapping remains imperfect. A perfect one-to-one correspondence is planned, though not yet implemented.
A large listing of Edge user-agent variations is available to browse, and the full set can be downloaded or searched. The listing covers different platforms and Edge versions, letting developers see the range of UA strings Edge sends. For those who need more than a static list, the database supports searching, and the site also offers a direct download option. The collection is part of a broader effort to track user-agent diversity across browsers.
A dedicated User Agent Parser page is available to test different user-agent varieties. It's designed to help developers try out various UA strings and verify whether their user-agent switcher is working correctly. The tool parses a given string and shows the fields it extracts, making it useful for debugging. The site suggests using the parser to check if a switcher's output is being read properly.
The Web Browser/Operating System Version Numbers API endpoint provides the latest user agents for popular web browsers and operating systems. It's aimed at developers who need current UA strings without scraping user-agent lists manually. The endpoint returns version numbers and corresponding UA strings, covering a range of platforms. The site positions it as a way to get up-to-date data for testing and analytics.
The user-agent database contains many millions of records, accessible via API for those who need deep, specific queries. Subscribers can filter by version numbers, hardware types, platforms, and other criteria to find UA strings matching exact conditions. The API provides programmatic access to the collection, which the site says is useful for very detailed queries. The scale of the dataset makes it a resource for researchers and analytics teams.
Where this came from. This breakdown is based on source material published at whatismybrowser.com. Images above are used with the credits shown beneath each one.