Internet Explorer 11, the eleventh and final version of the Internet Explorer web browser from Microsoft, is over 8 years old, and will have the plug pulled on it completely by its maker next year. However, if you’re still using it, do please move on, as Google has now joined the ranks of companies which will not be supporting it in future, in that it will not be ensuring that its software and services work properly in the browser. WordPress went the same way earlier this year.
IE’s market share is still over 1%, perhaps because it comes bundled with older versions of Windows (although not Windows 11). It’s a sign of how difficult Microsoft finds it to move users on, thanks to the massive Windows user base. But it’s also fiddled around with browsers quite a bit. As The Verge reported, “At one point in Windows 10’s lifetime, you could have had Internet Explorer, the legacy version of Microsoft Edge, and the new Chromium-powered Edge all installed. This trio of browsers was the perfect illustration of Microsoft’s struggles with the web over the past decade.”
Windows 11 will be the first time Microsoft has not bundled Internet Explorer with a new version of Windows for more than 20 years. If you’ve still got it hanging around, I would quietly remove it.