At one time, Microsoft Internet Explorer had more than 90% of the web browser market. Now, the company said it will cut access to a critical piece of support in 2021.
The tech giant made this announcement in a blog post this week.
By the summer of 2002, Internet Explorer was virtually unrivaled. The only browser that was closed was Netscape, which quickly lost part of Microsoft’s browser that year, according to ZDNet. At the time, Internet Explorer was even more dominant than Google’s Chrome browser today.
GOOGLE FIXED ‘RISK’ SECURITY CHROME FUNCTION
However, Internet Explorer is still popular. While Chrome rules – with about 70% market share – Internet Explorer 11 has an even larger market share than Apple’s Safari, according to NetApplications.
But that share will inevitably shrink as Microsoft prepares to end critical browser support.
This week, Microsoft said that by August 2021, apps and services will no longer be supported for Internet Explorer 11 on Microsoft 365, the subscription service for Microsoft Office, which includes popular applications such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
As of November 30, 2020, Microsoft Teams, a popular collaboration, web conferencing, and meeting app, will no longer support IE 11.
ONLINE FRAUD IS SURGING: FIVE FACTS THAT YOU CANNOT KNOW PROBABY
By those dates, users would “no longer need to access” Microsoft 365 apps and services with IE 11, Microsoft added.
Why is Microsoft doing this? Microsoft Edge.
The tech giant recently updated its Edge browser with the same Chromium source code that Google uses in its Chrome browser. And now Microsoft wants IE 11 users to migrate to the new Edge.
“With the new Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer mode, customers do not need a cumbersome solution from one browser for some apps and another for other apps,” Microsoft said in the blog post.
“They can standardize on one browser and … experience the best of the modern web in one tab, accessible for access to a business-critical legacy IE 11 app in another tab – all housed in the new Microsoft Edge.”
Essentially, that means older IE 11 apps will continue to work, but just not in the old Internet Explorer 11 browser.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
