After Internet Explorer’s retirement, Microsoft is redirecting its users to the new Edge browser

New Delhi: Microsoft’s Internet Explorer retired after 25 years of its service on June 15. Social media has witnessed several memes surfacing around while netizens are a bit nostalgic about the end of the search engine. However, Microsoft has started redirecting its loyal users to its Edge browser.

As per the blog post by Sean Lyndersay, General Manager, Microsoft Edge Enterprise, Internet Explorer has not very well kept up with the times. The blog posts stated that the product has a reputation of one “from an older era—quirky in behaviour and lacking the security of a modern browser.”

Microsoft has been able to push the Edge browser, which launched for Windows 10 and Xbox One back in 2015. Since then, the browser has made its way through Android and iOS. However, the success was not up to the mark as Microsoft expected. Google’s Chrome browser continues to dominate the market, second by Apple’s Safari.

In the blog post, Microsoft also confirmed that there will be an Internet Explorer mode built into it. This will enable users to visit sites and use web applications that are only supported by Explorer, including site support for functionality like ActiveX controls.

Further, the post stated, “over the next few months, opening Internet Explorer will progressively redirect users to our new modern browser, Microsoft Edge with IE mode.”

Users will continue to see the Internet Explorer icon on their devices, however, by clicking on it, the Edge browser will open. “Eventually, Internet Explorer will be disabled permanently as part of a future Windows Update, at which point the Internet Explorer icons on users’ devices will be removed,” adds the blog.

On this redirection of Microsoft from IE to Edge, user data such as favourites, passwords, and settings will be imported.

Edge browser will be supported on all versions of Windows 10 Home, Pro, Enterprise, Edu, and IoT. Internet Explorer has been removed from Windows 11.

Internet Explorer will not be immediately removed from all these versions, however, gradually the users will be redirected to Microsoft Edge on all these devices within the next few months.

The company has committed to supporting IE mode in Microsoft Edge through at least 2029.