Microsoft Edge replaced Internet Explorer as the default Windows web browser in 2015. Six years later, Microsoft replaced that version of Edge with a newer model.
Microsoft announced on its technology blog on Friday that Edge Legacy (the older version of the browser pre-installed on Windows 10 computers) will be automatically removed from the computers on April 13 with a software update. Anyone who still uses Edge Legacy on Windows 10. is strongly advised to switch to the new version of Edge based on Google’s open source Chromium software, which was launched a year ago.
If you do not switch manually before April 13, your computer will do it for you. Those who have Edge Legacy on their taskbar or desktops will see it replaced with the new version of Edge. You could theoretically continue to use Edge Legacy if you just did not install the April 13 software update, but the Chromium version of Edge is the only one that will get new features and, above all, security updates.
For what it’s worth, Microsoft promises the new Edge is fast and reliable. We let you be the judge of it. This goes without saying, but if you use a third-party browser like Chrome or Firefox, this change will not affect your daily routine. It will be as if it never even happened. We promise.
The removal news is not entirely a surprise. Microsoft confirmed in August 2020 that Edge Legacy Browser will no longer be supported after March 9, 2021. The latest development reinforces the upcoming change, with Microsoft taking the dramatic step of removing the browser automatically.
Internet Explorer will remain, although it has also been configured for some changes. Microsoft began stopping browser support in November 2020, and it is expected to end on August 17, 2021, when Microsoft 365 will end its support for the now browser.
However, this does not mean that Explorer Edge Legacy will follow into oblivion. Microsoft writes in the 2020 announcement that the browser “does not disappear.” The reason? “Customers have made business-critical investments in IE 11 applications and we respect that the programs are still functioning.”
That being said, you should definitely not continue to use Internet Explorer unless you have a specific reason to do so.