Internet Explorer

Internet Explorer: Discontinued Web Browser

Internet Explorer is a discontinued web browser that was created by Microsoft and included in Windows operating systems. It was once the most widely used web browser, but has lost considerable market share to browsers like Chrome and Firefox over the years.

What is Internet Explorer?

Internet Explorer (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer and Windows Internet Explorer, commonly abbreviated IE or MSIE) is a discontinued series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft and included in the Microsoft Windows line of operating systems, starting in 1995. It was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year.

Later versions were available as free downloads, and eventually came pre-installed by default in all versions of Windows from Windows 98 to Windows 11 in 2021. At its peak in 2002 and 2003, Internet Explorer had about 95% share of the web browser market; however this later declined, with IE losing share to browsers including Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, and Microsoft Edge.

On March 17, 2015, Microsoft announced that Microsoft Edge would replace Internet Explorer as the default browser on its Windows 10 devices. This effectively discontinued the development of Internet Explorer. The browser is still installed on Windows 10 and 11 in 2021 for compatibility purposes, but is no longer actively developed or updated. Many web pages written for older versions may not display properly or work correctly on Edge or other modern browsers.

Internet Explorer Features

Official Links