Microsoft to retire Internet Explorer in 2022

Microsoft will finally retire Internet Explorer next year, after more than 25 years. Most consumers have stopped using the old web browser for years, but Microsoft is bidding farewell to Internet Explorer on June 15, 2022, pulling it back in favour of Microsoft Edge.

"We are announcing that the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge," says Sean Lyndersay, a Microsoft Edge program manager. "The Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired and go out of support on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10."

While Windows 10's Long Term Service Channel (LTSC) will continue to include Internet Explorer next year, all consumer versions will no longer support the browser. Microsoft is not making this clear (and we are checking it), but we are likely to finally see the end of Internet Explorer included in Windows in June 2022 or shortly after that.

The alternative for most businesses will be Microsoft Edge with IE mode. Microsoft created its IE mode for Edge a couple of years ago and has allowed companies to adopt the new Chromium-based browser for older legacy websites. IE mode supports older ActiveX controls and legacy sites, which are surprisingly still used by many companies. Microsoft promises to keep this IE mode in Edge until at least 2029.

The end of Internet Explorer has been a long time coming. Microsoft ended support for Internet Explorer 11 for the Microsoft Teams web application last year and planned to stop accessing Microsoft 365 services later this year. As a result, Internet Explorer 11 will no longer be compatible with Microsoft's online services such as Office 365, OneDrive, Outlook, and more on August 17.

Microsoft has also been trying to prevent people from using Internet Explorer for more than five years. Microsoft Edge first appeared in 2015 and ushered in the end of the Internet Explorer brand. Since then, Microsoft has labelled Internet Explorer a "compatibility solution" rather than a browser and encouraged companies to stop using the outdated browser in favour of Edge and its IE mode.