Microsoft is preparing to retire the Internet Explorer 11 browser on June 15, 2022, but there are a few important caveats. If we consider those exceptions, it looks like IE will be around in some capacity even past then.

Everyone knew the day would come when Microsoft finally ditched the old Internet Explorer browser. The company has been working towards this goal for some time and has built a replacement browser based on Chromium, like many available alternatives.

“With Microsoft Edge capable of assuming this responsibility and more, the Internet Explorer 11 desktop application will be retired and go out of support on June 15, 2022, for certain versions of Windows 10,” said Microsoft.

While it looks like a straightforward decision, the situation is complicated because many companies use the old IE internally in various products and capacities, so deleting it is not an option. Fortunately, Microsoft’s replacement, Edge, has a dedicated function named IE mode that’s supported until 2029.

The announcement explained which systems won’t be affected by the IE retirement.

• Internet Explorer mode in Microsoft Edge
• Internet Explorer platform (MSHTML/Trident), including WebOC
• Internet Explorer 11 desktop application on:
• Windows 8.1
• Windows 7 Extended Security Updates (ESU)
• Windows 10 Server SAC (all versions)
• Windows 10 IoT Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) (all versions)
• Windows 10 Server LTSC (all versions)
• Windows 10 client LTSC (all versions)
• In-market Windows 10 LTSC and Windows Server

Regular end users will have to deal with the fact that, starting June 15, 2022, every time they try to start the application manually, they will be redirected to use Edge instead. This is actually a good move, as simply removing support for the browser would have left many users free to use an increasingly vulnerable application.