thearchivist.funInternet Explorer 11 is retired from Windows 10
Microsoft announced on 19 May 2021 that the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application would be retired and go out of support on 15 June 2022 for certain versions of Windows 10. Sean Lyndersay, a Microsoft Edge program manager, wrote that the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge. The company's stated reason was that Edge is faster, more secure and more modern. To keep old sites working, Edge includes an Internet Explorer mode for legacy web sites and applications, and the announcement said support for that mode would run through at least 2029. Internet Explorer had first appeared in 1995. The retirement did not delete any web page. It ended the primary program that many older intranets, kiosks and sites had been written to expect, which is why the replacement came with a compatibility mode rather than a clean break.
Context and provenance
This record is a limited one: the source read is a news summary, not the announcement itself, and it covers only certain Windows 10 versions. Do not extend the retirement to every Windows product or every use of the old engine without checking Microsoft's lifecycle pages.
When you need to know how a page looked or behaved in Internet Explorer, test it in a documented environment and record the browser version, the operating system and the date. The retirement described here covers certain Windows 10 versions only, so check Microsoft's lifecycle pages for the product you are asking about.
Transmission timeline
- 1995
Internet Explorer debuts.
- 2021-05-19
Microsoft announces the retirement date (the report calls it a Wednesday and is dated 21 May).
- 2022-06-15
IE 11 desktop application retired and out of support for certain Windows 10 versions.
Why it matters
An old browser's retirement is a quiet kind of loss: the pages stay, but the software they were built for becomes harder to run.
What remains uncertain
The announcement date is inferred from the article's wording and dateline. Which Windows editions were covered should be taken from Microsoft's lifecycle documentation.
Sources and evidence
- YourStory: Farewell, Internet Explorer; Microsoft to retire web browser on June 15, 2022
Retirement date, Sean Lyndersay's quoted statements, IE mode in Edge through at least 2029, 1995 debut.
Editorial review: 2026-10-22. New evidence may change this account.