Microsoft to end support for its ageing browser Internet Explorer in 2021

Microsoft is ending its support for Internet Explorer 11 across the Microsoft 365 apps and services in August next year, i.e 2021. The browser will no longer be supported for Microsoft's online services like Outlook, OneDrive, Office 365 and others. Later this year, the tech giant company will also be ending the support of Internet Explorer 11 on Microsoft Teams web app on November 30, 2020. 

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Microsoft bids farewell to Internet Explorer

Though enterprises will require some time to depart from Internet Explorer. Microsoft is reportedly expecting the new Internet Explorer legacy mode in Microsoft Edge browser will allow users to make do in the time being. The Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser will help businesses access older sites which were specifically built for Internet Explorer, but it will only last until the company decides to drop the browser in its entirety. 

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While Microsoft changes the support platforms for the browser drastically, it is also planning to drop the existing legacy version of Internet Explorer in March 2021. Once the support tenure is over, the legacy version of the browser will no longer receive any security updates or any updates in general. Microsoft has been steadily moving the existing Windows 10 users to the Chromium-based Edge Browser, the company has also furthermore confirmed that the future WIndows update will all include the latest Edge browser. 

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Microsoft had aimed to end the Internet Explorer usage and support for years now. The company had first unveiled the Edge browser back in 2015. The browser was reportedly developed under the codename of Project Spartan. Microsoft has since then labelled Internet Explorer brand to be a compatibility solution rather than their default browser, seen through the years. The company has also encouraged businesses to stop using the ageing browser, which has also been subjected to getting trolled on the internet. 

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Though the company did not reveal how many users actually use the legacy browser, it shared that a majority of users have actually departed from Internet Explorer through the years. Microsoft is reportedly planning to bundle the new Chromium-based browser with Window 10 later this year with the release of the latest iteration of Microsoft's operating system.