Final good-byes to Internet Explorer

Microsoft has announced the end of an era by shutting down the previously well-known web browser ‘Internet Explorer’. After 27 years, Microsoft has officially announced that Internet Explorer (IE) 11 is ending support as of 15th June 2022. 

The first version of Internet Explorer was introduced in 1995 becoming one of the most well-known web browsers used, and since then, 11 versions were released between 1995 and 2013.

Even though Internet Explorer usage was at 90 percent all the way back in 2003, with the introduction of faster web browsers such as Firefox in the year 2004, the usage of IE started to decline. The cause of this demise was something that users had been complaining about since the beginning of its existence: sluggish speed, frequent crashes, and vulnerability to hacking.

 By 2011, Internet Explorer was already sharing the market with its competitors Chrome and Firefox with Internet Explorer at 52 percent, Chrome at 17.62 percent and Firefox at 22.51 percent. Fast forward to 2021, the desktop browser market usage of Internet Explorer stood at only 1.45 percent, with Chrome at 68.76 percent.

 While consumers took to the internet to relive the nostalgia of the Internet Explorer as it came to an end, it is not surprising given Microsoft's announcement in 2021 that they would be moving away from Internet Explorer and encourage their consumers to use Microsoft Edge instead.