It’s official. Microsoft is ending support of its 26-year-old web browser, Internet Explorer, on June 15.
Microsoft first made the announcement over a year ago and has been encouraging users to retire the browser and instead use the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser.
“With Microsoft Edge capable of assuming this responsibility and more, the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired and go out of support on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10,” the company said in a blog post.
Edge is currently the default browser for Windows operating systems.
The company urges switching from IE to Edge as soon as possible to move passwords, favorite pages and other browsing data so it is not lost.
Internet Explorer 1.0 first debuted in 1995 as part of Microsoft Windows 95, kicking off an era known as the “browser wars,” taking on then-popular browsers like Netscape Navigator.
Because Microsoft bundled IE with the Windows operating system, the browser gained 99% of the browser market share by 1999 and became the most widely used web browser in the world.
In the early 2000s, Internet Explorer began to lose market share to other web browsers such as Firefox and Google Chrome. By 2015, Internet Explorer held less than 20% of the market share for web browsers.
Microsoft announced in 2015 that Microsoft Edge, released as part of Windows 10, would replace IE. The company slowly began ending support for IE in 2016.
According to the Verge, Internet Explorer is no longer pre-installed on devices or operating systems. “IE Mode” in Microsoft Edge will be supported on Windows Client, Server and IoT releases through 2029, according to ZDNet.
The company has provided guidance for companies who would like to prepare for the retirement of IE. More information on the transition can be found here.
