Microsoft to retire Internet Explorer next year

Microsoft Edge with IE mode will replace the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application on Windows 10.

The Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired (Microsoft )

Microsoft has finally decided to pull the plug on Internet Explorer. The browser has been around for almost 25 years, but its usage dwindled in recent years as Google's Chrome and Mozilla's Firefox gained popularity. Internet Explorer will be retired and go out of support on June 15, 2022. 

According to Microsoft, Internet Explorer 11 will not be supported by Microsoft 365 and other apps by August 17, 2021. The browser for the desktop will be retired on June 15, 2022. Note that the retirement does not affect in-market Windows 10 LTSC or Server Internet Explorer 11 desktop applications. The company added that it also does not affect the MSHTML (Trident) engine.

Microsoft has asked users who are still using the IE to transition to Edge. The company points out that the Edge browser Internet Explorer mode (“IE mode”) built-in, so you can access those legacy Internet Explorer-based websites and applications from the browser.

“Today, we are at the next stage of that journey: we are announcing that the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge. Not only is Microsoft Edge a faster, more secure and more modern browsing experience than Internet Explorer, but it is also able to address a key concern: compatibility for older, legacy websites and applications,” the company said in a post.

That said, the retirement of Internet Explorer has been long due. The company has been making efforts to encourage users to upgrade to a more modern Edge browser. Just last year, the company had ended support for IE 11 for the Teams web app.