Why Internet Explorer Is Finally Saying Goodbye: The End of an Era

Goodbye, Internet Explorer

Microsoft introduced Edge five years ago as the default replacement for Internet Explorer, yet the legacy IE browser remained in Windows 10 to support old web technologies such as ActiveX.

IE History

Internet Explorer debuted alongside Windows 95 in 1995, quickly becoming the gateway to the web for many developers. Over 25 years it evolved from the bundled IE 3.0 to version 11, spanning the Windows 9x, XP, Vista, 7, 8, and 10 families.

During the IE6 era (around 2002) developers spent excessive time fixing pages that rendered correctly in Netscape but broke in IE, leading to widespread frustration.

Microsoft's Plan to Retire IE

Microsoft announced the “Sparta Plan” to completely remove Internet Explorer from Windows. The rollout includes:

Microsoft Teams stopped supporting IE 11 after 30 Nov 2020.

Edge’s Legacy (IE‑mode) ended on 9 Mar 2021, with no further updates.

All Microsoft 365 apps and services ceased IE 11 support on 17 Aug 2021.

In October 2020 Microsoft also ended support for Office 2016, warning organizations still using IE.

Transition to Chromium Edge

Microsoft encourages users to migrate to the Chromium‑based Edge, which runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Edge is delivered via Windows Update and automatically migrates IE bookmarks, history, and passwords.

Edge’s market share rose to 8.84 % in September 2020, overtaking Firefox.

Conclusion

After more than a quarter‑century, Internet Explorer will be officially retired in 2021 at age 26. While many reminisce about its role in early web development, the browser’s poor performance and security issues made its replacement inevitable.

What memories do developers have of IE?