Microsoft Announces It's Finally 'Retiring' Internet Explorer

After twenty-five years, Microsoft is finally putting Internet Explorer down. The company announced yesterday that it will be pulling support for the punching bag of internet browsers on June 15th, 2022.

"Today… we are announcing that the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge," wrote Microsoft. "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."

Internet Explorer, long the default internet browser for Windows PCs, was once the dominant internet browser: in 2002, 95% of internet users were using Explorer. Stagnation caused consumers to grow frustrated with Explorer, and it steadily lost ground to competitors over the following two decades, dipping below 50% of market share in 2010 and hitting a mere 5% by 2020. By the end of its life, it garnered a tongue-in-cheek reputation as the browser that was only useful for downloading other browsers like Chrome and Firefox.

Microsoft released "Edge," a more modern internet browser, in 2015, but even that wasn't enough to kill Internet Explorer, which stubbornly stuck around simply to make sure companies' corporate apps kept functioning properly.

The announcement of Internet Explorer's final, merciful death brought out a series of backhanded tributes to the browser, long since forgotten as an outdated relic of the old internet.

So long, Internet Explorer. May you happily crash in heaven.