Microsoft is finally pulling the plug on its most unpopular product—the Internet Explorer, 25 years after it was created. People have been largely using browsers by competitors like Chrome by Google or Safari by Apple. “We are announcing that the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge.” the company said in a blog post-Wednesday, referring to its other browser.
Since several organisations still have websites on the browser nearing its end, Microsoft said that Internet Explorer-based websites and applications will work with Edge at least until 2029.
"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," Sean Lyndersay, Microsoft's program manager for Edge told CNN.
Currently, 69 per cent of users are partial to Google’s Chrome browser, while 19 per cent of users use Safari, which is available on Apple devices.
In August 2020, Microsoft turned its back on IE for its products, when it announced that its 365 apps including Office will no longer work on IE by mid-summer 2021. Microsoft, earlier this week announced that it will end support for Internet Explorer 11 on June 15, 2022. The company said that the explorer was slow and not practical for several web tasks and is far less secure.