Microsoft is retiring Internet Explorer nearly 27 years on Wednesday.
Those who try to open the familiar blue and white “e” application are now directed to the company’s most recent browser Microsoft Edge.
In the month of May, the company made the first announcement about the decision to retire the web browser for specific versions of Windows 10 on June 15, 2022.
Moreover, Microsoft introduced Edge in 2015, and it has gradually phased out Internet Explorer.
The company mentioned in the statement, “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 had been the go-to browser on Windows PCs for years before rivals such as Mozilla’s Firefox and Google’s Chrome snagged users away.
Along with this, Microsoft Edge Enterprise General Manager Sean Lyndesay released in a statement noted, “Users will still see the Internet Explorer icon on their devices (such as on the taskbar or in the Start menu), but if they click to open Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge will open instead with easy access to IE mode.”
Eventually, Lyndersay mentioned in the statement that IE would be disabled permanently as part of a future Windows Update. At that point, the IE icons on their devices will be removed.
As part of the redirection process, he stated that the users will have their data like favourites, passwords, and settings imported from IE in an effort to “make the transition to Microsoft Edge both familiar and simple.”
If users want to delete or manage their data after that, they can do so in Microsoft Edge from the settings menu.
