MEGA Edge extension provides secure cloud storage but it needs polish

MEGA released its extension for Microsoft Edge last week. It allows you to easily download files and manage your online storage. There are a number of cloud storage providers available these days, but MEGA competes with them well.

The extension itself is free but the amount of storage you get from MEGA depends on the plan you subscribe to. There are free options and premium versions available at a range of prices (more on that coming up).

See in Microsoft Store (opens in new tab)

MEGA in action

Before breaking down the extension, it's worth going over what MEGA does a service. MEGA is a cloud storage provider that has end-to-end encryption for users. It focuses on security, and even the developers of MEGA can't access your data without you being notified. Beyond that, MEGA is a cloud storage provider similar to other popular services.

MEGA can be accessed on the web, but using an extension has its advantages. Using an extension downloads MEGA into your browser, which results in lower loading times and increased security. Using the service is straightforward and works very well. In our testing, we were particularly impressed with the quality of video playback when previewing video files. Where OneDrive occasionally has hiccups in streaming video within Edge, MEGA played video smoothly.

In addition to storing things on the cloud, MEGA also allows you to chat with people through the service.

MEGA comes with 50GB of free storage but you can upgrade to more storage with a number of pro plans. You can get 200GB for €4.99 a month ($5.95), 500GB for €9.99 a month ($11.92), 2TB for €19.99 amonth ($23.85) or 4TB for €29.99 a month ($35.78). The pricing is only listed in Euros on their website, which is why we listed Euro pricing first.

Not quite cutting Edge

MEGA's extension for Edge is relatively new and provides a similar experience to MEGA on Chrome and Firefox, but it's not at parity with its more established siblings.

Furthermore, MEGA's website doesn't list Edge as a supported platform for extensions. These types of hiccups aren't rare for newer apps and extensions, but they need to be ironed out quickly before public perception turns too negative.

Final thoughts on MEGA for Edge

MEGA is a solid cloud storage provider that gives you 50GB of free storage. It's also recognized as a secure cloud storage provider, where your data is encrypted. The Edge extension has some issues, but it performs well once everything is loaded.

As with any big-name extension that arrives in the Microsoft Store, this is one less hurdle for people who want to use Edge as their full time browser to jump, which is good news for Microsoft.

Pros

  • Secure cloud storage
  • Downloads MEGA into your broswer
  • Variety of pricing plans, including a free option

Cons

  • Requires you to manually enter a link

See in Microsoft Store (opens in new tab)

Updated: January 17, 2018: We modified this post to clarify that the browser button that didn't work when we first tested it has been updated, and it now works fine.

Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott brings nearly a decade of experience covering Microsoft and Windows news to Windows Central. He joined our team in 2017 as an app reviewer and now heads up our day-to-day news coverage. If you have a news tip or an app to review, hit him up at sean.endicott@futurenet.com (opens in new tab).

6 Comments
  • The end to end encryption is great but if you forget your password then you have no choice but to create a new account.
  • Good to know. I am between the ones that installed and uninstalled thinking that the extension did not worked. Strange thing.
  • I just bookmarked the link from the article and in does detect that you have the Edge extension installed.
  • To clarify, you do NOT get 50GB on a free account. You get 15GB (which is the actual base for a free account) + 35GB storage Account Registration Bonus which is valid for 30 days ONLY. There are other 'bonuses' for installing their desktop client (20GB storage and 40GB transfer quota for 180 days), mobile client (15GB storage and 30GB transfer quota for 180 days), and invite a friend referral (10GB storage and 20GB transfer quota for 365 days) but the friend must also install the desktop or mobile client.
  • Are you tried to open mega url for download something in Edge, with this extension installed? It opens main page only. So it's not working as it should.
  • Well an update fixed the non functioning button but now it just gets stuck requesting account data. Yet the Firefox extension works as does the MEGA privacy app.