The consumer version of Internet Explorer, which was first released in 1995, is being retired by Microsoft.
The plan was announced last year, making Internet Explorer 11 its final version.
The browser captured 95% of the market by 2004 after it made its debut on Windows desktop computers 27 years ago.
Google Chrome, Apple’s Safari, and Mozilla Firefox are presently the most popular browsers.
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Users that prefer to continue with Microsoft are redirected to Microsoft Edge, which was launched at the same time as Windows 10 in 2015.
The popularity of Internet Explorer was hampered by the launch of quicker browsers like Chrome and Firefox, as people flocked to new apps to traverse platforms such as Google Search, Facebook, and YouTube.
The development of smartphones probably dealt the last blow, with Apple’s Safari browser pre-installed on iPhones and Google Chrome on Android phones, helping to switch internet access and usage to the mobile realm, as reported by BBC.
According to StatCounter, an independent online analytics organization, mobile and tablet internet usage surpassed desktop for the first time in October 2016.
Earlier that year, StatCounter reported that Google Chrome accounted for more than 60% of global desktop internet usage, with Internet Explorer and Edge’s combined share of the desktop market slightly behind Firefox for the first time.
For developers and people who need to use older programs, Edge has an inbuilt “IE mode.”
Microsoft went ahead to report that, previous versions of Windows, such as Windows 8.1, Windows 7 Extended Security Updates, and restricted versions of Windows 10, will retain access to its heritage desktop browser.
