Internet Explorer desktop application
The browser that once defined the web was retired inside Windows and progressively redirected into Microsoft Edge.
Quick facts
- Existence state
- Officially Gone
- Peak stage
- general availability
- Research confidence
- high
- Last verified
What it was
Microsoft's long-running graphical web browser bundled with Windows.
Microsoft's long-running graphical web browser bundled with Windows. Internet Explorer grew from a licensed browser into the dominant way to reach the web, shaped proprietary standards, and later accumulated compatibility obligations that slowed its replacement.
Existence timeline
Microsoft ships the first version as an add-on for Windows 95.
Internet Explorer 6 arrives near the height of the browser's market power.
A new default browser begins replacing Internet Explorer.
The IE11 app reaches retirement on most supported Windows 10 editions.
Edge updates redirect many remaining users away from the old application.
Why it ended
Microsoft ended support for the Internet Explorer 11 desktop app on most Windows 10 editions in 2022 and disabled remaining launch paths through Edge updates.
Last confirmed trace
Compatibility mode inside Edge, legacy enterprise installations, software packages and web archives preserve parts of the browser's behaviour.
What it left behind
Its history spans browser monopoly, antitrust, standards conflict and the enormous cost of retiring software embedded in organisations for decades.
How we classified it
The archive unit reached normal public release or operation and is no longer obtainable in its original public form.
Verified normal public availability maps to 100 under Arrival Score V1.
Sources & verification
Last reviewed 2026-08-01. Sources are linked so readers can inspect the evidence directly.