Farewell, Internet Explorer: Microsoft Ending Support for the Beloved Web Browser

Microsoft marked an end of an era on Wednesday, 15 June, with the announcement that it’s retiring its now-iconic web browser, Internet Explorer.

Credit: Microsoft

The software giant said that it will no longer support the 27-year-old application, asking all Windows users to switch to its newer Edge browser, which was launched in 2015.

“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,” wrote Sean Lyndersay, General Manager of Microsoft Edge Enterprise in a blog post.

Microsoft released 11 versions of Internet Explorer since it was launched in 1995. The last of which is Internet Explorer 11, which was released in 2013 before being replaced by Edge two years later.

For those who were alive in the early days of Windows, Internet Explorer was their first introduction to the online world. The software was almost synonymous with the world wide web from the late 90s to the early 2000s, holding a whopping 95% market share in 2003. This was largely due to Microsoft packaging Internet Explorer as the default browser of Windows, giving it a huge advantage over its old rival Netscape Navigator.

However, the browser would later lose its dominance to competitors like Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Many users would cite bugs, proprietary lock-ins and the lack of security as some of the reasons they stopped using Microsoft’s web browser. Even today, the application has become an internet meme of sorts for its slow speed, with it being called as “the top browser to install other browsers”.

While Internet Explorer has many flaws, many were left nostalgic after Microsoft announced its retirement, remembering the days when they used it to access now-defunct chat rooms and social media platforms on dial-up connections.

Today, Chrome is reportedly the most-used web application with an estimated 65% market share of the browser market. It’s followed by Apple’s Safari and Mozilla Firefox at second and third respectively.

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• Microsoft marked an end of an era, with the announcement that it’s retiring its now-iconic web browser, Internet Explorer.

• The software giant said that it will no longer support the application, asking all Windows users to switch to its newer Edge browser.

• The application was once the most-used web browser in the world until it later lost its dominance to rivals like Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome.