After 27 years of service, Microsoft is retiring Internet Explorer

The browser's popularity peaked in 2003, with a 95 per cent usage share. However, as other competitors released new browsers, their user base lowered in the years that followed.

Team Newsable

New Delhi, First Published Jun 12, 2022, 10:36 AM IST | Last Updated Jun 12, 2022, 10:36 AM IST

Microsoft has decided to retire the iconic Internet Explorer. In 1995, the web browser was first published as part of the Plus! Add-on package for Windows 95.

Later versions of Windows 95 and later versions of Windows were accessible as free downloads or in-service packs and were included in the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) service releases.

Following the reports, the browser's popularity peaked in 2003, with a 95 per cent usage share. However, as other competitors released new browsers, their user base lowered in the years that followed.

In 2016, new feature development for Internet Explorer was halted in favour of Microsoft Edge, a new browser. This was Microsoft's first announcement that Internet Explorer would be phased out gradually.

On August 17, 2021, Microsoft 365 will stop supporting Internet Explorer, while Microsoft Teams will stop supporting it on November 30, 2020. As per reports, Internet Explorer is set to discontinue on June 15, 2022.

'The future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 lies in Microsoft Edge,' according to Sean Lyndersay, Microsoft Edge programme manager.

"Not only is Microsoft Edge a quicker, safer, and more contemporary browsing experience than Internet Explorer," he said, "but it also addresses a crucial concern, compatibility with older, legacy websites and applications."

"Internet Explorer mode ('IE mode') is incorporated into Microsoft Edge, allowing you to view older Internet Explorer-based websites and applications directly from Microsoft Edge. Because Microsoft Edge can handle this and other tasks, Internet Explorer 11 will be decommissioned, and support will end on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10," he continued.

Internet Explorer will be remembered fondly by anyone who used computers at home, in schools, and offices in the 1990s and early 2000s. The browser was the initial gateway to the internet for millions of people all around the world.

It was also the only way to use the popular browsers we are all familiar with today.

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