Microsoft is retiring Internet Explorer after 27 years, here’s why

New Delhi: Microsoft has officially retired the venerable Internet Explorer. The web browser was first launched in 1995 as part of the Plus! add-on package for Windows 95. Later versions were available as free downloads or in-service packs, and were included in OEM service releases of Windows 95 and later versions of Windows.

According to reports, the browser peaked in 2003 with a 95 percent usage share. However, as other competitors released new browsers, their user base declined in the years that followed.

In 2016, fresh feature development for Internet Explorer was halted in favour of the new browser Microsoft Edge. This was the first time Microsoft planned to phase out Internet Explorer gradually.

Microsoft 365 will no longer support Internet Explorer on August 17, 2021, and Microsoft Teams will no longer support IE on November 30, 2020. According to reports, Internet Explorer will be phased out on June 15, 2022.

Microsoft Edge programme manager Sean Lyndersay stated that "the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 lies in Microsoft Edge."

"Not only is Microsoft Edge a quicker, more secure, and more contemporary browsing experience than Internet Explorer," he said, "but it also addresses a crucial concern: compatibility for 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. With Microsoft Edge capable of taking on this and other responsibilities, the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be discontinued and phased out of support for certain versions of Windows 10 on June 15, 2022 "he said.

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

It was also the sole means to access the popular browsers that we are all accustomed to today.

That is why netizens are feeling nostalgic right now.

"A final tribute to Internet Explorer," one user said. It will cease support on June 15, this year. You have offered me many joyful memories as my first Internet connection. As a last hurrah, I'm going to try to download it on Windows 11. Goodbye! We might not see each other again."

"I'm sorry that Microsoft is discontinuing Internet Explorer, but who uses it anyway? I believe it's the loss of memories caused by time that makes me feel this way "another user said.