Starting today, Microsoft will forcibly remove Internet Explorer from most Windows 10 PCs via a Microsoft Edge update. To help out users who were still using IE 11 Microsoft has automatically transferred all of their browsing data including bookmarks to Edge.
If you are running the latest version of Windows i.e. Windows 11 then there’s nothing to really worry about as Microsoft never shipped a version of Internet Explorer with Windows 11.
Several IE11 visual references like icons on the taskbar and the Start Menu will also be removed by Microsoft later this year with a security update. Several legacy websites that were only accessible using the MSHTML rendering engine can now be accessed using the Microsoft Edge’s IE compatibility mode.
Luckily this mode will be supported till 2029.
In an official statement Microsoft stated that “As previously announced, the out-of-support Internet Explorer 11 (IE11) desktop application will be permanently disabled on certain versions of Windows 10 starting today, February 14, 2023.”
“Devices that have not already been redirected from IE11 to Microsoft Edge will be redirected with today’s Microsoft Edge update.”
“Organizations that have already transitioned from IE11 to Microsoft Edge with IE mode will not be impacted by the disablement. Organizations that have not transitioned to Microsoft Edge with IE mode may face immediate business disruption,” Microsoft added.
It’s worth noting that, Internet explorer will still remain accessible to several versions of Windows 10 like Windows Server, non-consumer versions of Windows 10 like the Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) versions of Windows 10 Enterprise and Windows 10 IoT, and Windows 7 and 8.
