After more than 25 years of service, Microsoft has finally decided to retire its iconic web browser, Internet Explorer.

The official end of its support has been scheduled on June 15, 2022, and the few people who still rely on it are encouraged to switch to Microsoft Edge or some other modern web browser by that time.

“We are announcing that the future of Internet Explorer on Windows 10 is in Microsoft Edge,” writes Sean Lyndersay, Microsoft Edge program manager, in the official press release.

The announcement is great news for all web developers who still have to implement various compatibility hacks just to make their websites display well on Internet Explorer, whose web browser market share has been hovering around 1 percent lately, according to data from StatCounter.

Microsoft has been gradually phasing out Internet Explorer over the years by cutting it off from accessing some of its products, including Microsoft 365 online services, which will completely stop supporting the web browser beginning August 17, 2021.

“Not only is Microsoft Edge a faster, more secure, and more modern browsing experience than Internet Explorer, but it is also able to address a key concern: compatibility for older, legacy websites and applications,” Lyndersay adds.

Also Read: Snapchat Launches Its Spotlight Feature In The MENA Region

Indeed, Microsoft Edge has a built-in compatibility mode for legacy Internet Explorer-based websites and applications, including those that rely on ActiveX, a deprecated software framework that allows websites to provide interactive content such as videos and games.

The latest iteration of Microsoft Edge is actually based on Chromium, the open-source codebase for Google’s Chrome web browser. Because Edge and Chrome share the same codebase, they also support the same extensions and offer similar features. However, many independent tests show that Edge has the upper hand when it comes to performance, memory usage, and responsiveness.