Microsoft announces Internet Explorer ‘retirement’ is slated next year

Internet Explorer has been the subject of countless memes for several years now, but those might become obsolete in a year. Microsoft has announced that its classic internet browser will be officially retired in 2022.

Internet Explorer will retire in June 2022

Microsoft confirmed in a blog post on Wednesday that the date of Internet Explorer’s retirement has been set on June 15, 2022. It means that majority of the Windows 10 users will no longer be able to use the Internet Explorer desktop application from that date.

Technically, the Internet Explorer will not completely cease to exist. It can be recalled that Microsoft introduced an IE mode within its modern (and much faster) browser, the Microsoft Edge. This shows that the retirement of the standalone Internet Explorer desktop app may have been in the works way before the announcement this week.

Microsoft Edge’s IE mode will also come in handy for certain situations because there are still websites, many of them managed from public offices, still require the use of Internet Explorer. From June 15 next year, Edge’s integrated function will be the way to go.

“This retirement does not affect in-market Windows 10 LTSC or Server Internet Explorer 11 desktop applications,” Microsoft added. The old browser’s retirement will also not cause major changes in the MSHTML (Trident) engine.

There are other changes that people need to take note of before June 2022. In a timeline, Microsoft provided, it was indicated that apps like Microsoft 365 will stop supporting Internet Explorer 11 starting Aug. 17 this year. Meanwhile, The Verge suggests that Microsoft might also stop offering Internet Explorer bundled with Windows around the time of the browser’s retirement.

Why is Microsoft retiring the Internet Explorer?

Microsoft cited three main reasons for the Internet Explorer retirement. First, the company says the move is part of its aim to provide improved compatibility. The Chromium-based Edge browsers let users get a better experience in opening modern websites. But the inclusion of IE mode also prevents people from losing access to “legacy Internet Explorer-based websites and applications.”

The retirement of Internet Explorer and having it integrated as a browsing mode in Edge prevents people from having to open two separate browsers. By redirecting Windows users to use the Edge, Microsoft believes they are getting better browser security. Last January, Microsoft introduced a new Edge feature called Password Monitor, which is advertised to detect if saved passwords have been involved in cybersecurity breaches.

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