Internet Explorer

For variants, see Internet Explorer for Mac, Internet Explorer for UNIX, and Internet Explorer Mobile.

Internet Explorer
Other namesMicrosoft Internet Explorer (versions 1–6)
Windows Internet Explorer (versions 7–9)
IE
Original author(s)Thomas Reardon
Developer(s)Microsoft
Initial releaseAugust 24, 1995; 29 years ago (1995-08-24)[1] (included with Plus! for Windows 95)
EnginesMSHTML (Trident), Chakra
Operating systemWindows (previously supported: Mac OS X, Solaris, HP-UX)
PlatformIA-32, x86-64, ARMv7 (previously supported: MIPS, Alpha, PowerPC, 68k, SPARC, PA-RISC, Itanium)
Included with
SuccessorMicrosoft Edge
Standard(s)HTML5, CSS3, WOFF, SVG, RSS, Atom, JPEG XR
Available in95 languages[2]
Type
LicenseProprietary, requires a Windows license[3]
Websitemicrosoft.com/ie

Internet Explorer[a] (formerly Microsoft Internet Explorer[b] and Windows Internet Explorer,[c] commonly abbreviated as IE or MSIE) is a retired series of graphical web browsers developed by Microsoft that were used in the Windows line of operating systems. While IE has been discontinued on most Windows editions, it remains supported on certain editions of Windows, such as Windows 10 LTSB/LTSC.[4] Starting in 1995, it was first released as part of the add-on package Plus! for Windows 95 that year. Later versions were available as free downloads or in-service packs and included in the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) service releases of Windows 95 and later versions of Windows. Microsoft spent over US$100 million per year on Internet Explorer in the late 1990s,[5] with over 1,000 people involved in the project by 1999.[6][7] New feature development for the browser was discontinued in 2016[8] and ended support on June 15, 2022 for Windows 10 Semi-Annual Channel (SAC), in favor of its successor, Microsoft Edge.

Internet Explorer was once the most widely used web browser, attaining a peak of 95% usage share by 2003.[9] It has since fallen out of general use after retirement. This came after Microsoft used bundling to win the first browser war against Netscape, which was the dominant browser in the 1990s. Its usage share has since declined with the launches of Firefox (2004) and Google Chrome (2008) and with the growing popularity of mobile operating systems such as Android and iOS that do not support Internet Explorer. Microsoft Edge, IE's successor, first overtook Internet Explorer in terms of market share in November 2019. Versions of Internet Explorer for other operating systems have also been produced, including an Xbox 360 version called Internet Explorer for Xbox and for platforms Microsoft no longer supports: Internet Explorer for Mac and Internet Explorer for UNIX (Solaris and HP-UX), and an embedded OEM version called Pocket Internet Explorer, later rebranded Internet Explorer Mobile, made for Windows CE, Windows Phone, and, previously, based on Internet Explorer 7, for Windows Phone 7.

The browser has been scrutinized throughout its development for its use of third-party technology (such as the source code of Spyglass Mosaic, used without royalty in early versions) and security and privacy vulnerabilities, and the United States and the European Union have determined that the integration of Internet Explorer with Windows has been to the detriment of fair browser competition.

Internet Explorer 7 was supported on Windows Embedded Compact 2013 until October 10, 2023.[10] The core of Internet Explorer 11 will continue being shipped and supported until at least 2029 as IE Mode, a feature of Microsoft Edge, enabling Edge to display web pages using Internet Explorer 11's Trident layout engine and other components.[11] Through IE Mode, the underlying technology of Internet Explorer 11 partially exists on versions of Windows that do not support IE11 as a proper application, including newer versions of Windows 10, as well as Windows 11, Windows Server Insider Build 22463 and Windows Server Insider Build 25110.[12]

  1. ^ "The History of Internet Explorer". News Center. Microsoft. August 25, 2005. Archived from the original on October 1, 2005.
  2. ^ "Internet Explorer 10 for Windows 7 released in 95 languages – Microsoft Language Portal Blog". blogs.technet.microsoft.com.
  3. ^ "Microsoft Pre-Release Software License Terms: Internet Explorer 11 Developer Preview". microsoft.com. Microsoft. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  4. ^ "Internet Explorer 11 desktop app retirement FAQ". TECHCOMMUNITY.MICROSOFT.COM. May 19, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2023.
  5. ^ "Victor: Software empire pays high price". CNET News. Archived from the original on February 21, 2021. Retrieved October 17, 2008.
  6. ^ "The rise, fall, and rehabilitation of Internet Explorer". citeworld.com. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
  7. ^ Paul Maritz. "U.S. Antitrust Case 98-1232". justice.gov. Retrieved February 6, 2015. There is talk about how we get more $'s from the 1000+ people we have working on browser related stuff...
  8. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Microsoft Edge Development. Microsoft. Archived from the original on July 16, 2016. The latest features and platform updates will only be available in Microsoft Edge. We will continue to deliver security updates to Internet Explorer 11 through its supported lifespan. To ensure consistent behavior across Windows versions, we will evaluate Internet Explorer 11 bugs for servicing on a case by case basis.
  9. ^ "Microsoft's Internet Explorer losing browser share". BBC News.
  10. ^ "Internet Explorer 7 - Microsoft Lifecycle". Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  11. ^ "What is Internet Explorer (IE) mode?". March 2, 2022. Archived from the original on June 13, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2022.
  12. ^ Tom Warren (June 25, 2021). "Windows 11 is deleting Internet Explorer". The Verge. Retrieved August 12, 2021.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).