The Internet Explorer Browser
Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer is a free web browser from Microsoft.
Internet Explorer was released in 1995 and is one of the most popular browsers today.
Internet Explorer Statistics
The following figures are based on W3Schools' users, and are extracted from our Browser Statistics:
| 2016 | Total | Edge 13 | Edge 12 | IE 11 | IE 10 | IE 9 | Older |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February | 6.2 % | 0.9% | 0.2 % | 4.1 % | 0.4 % | 0.3 % | 0.3 % |
| January | 6.2 % | 0.8% | 0.4 % | 3.8 % | 0.5 % | 0.4 % | 0.3 % |
| 2015 | Total | Edge | IE 11 | IE 10 | IE 9 | IE 8 | IE 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | 6.3 % | 1.0 % | 3.9 % | 0.6 % | 0.4 % | 0.3 % | 0.1 % |
| November | 6.8 % | 1.0 % | 4.4 % | 0.6 % | 0.5 % | 0.4 % | 0.1 % |
| October | 6.9 % | 0.9 % | 4.1 % | 0.6 % | 0.5 % | 0.5 % | 0.1 % |
| September | 7.2 % | 0.8 % | 4.2 % | 0.9 % | 0.9 % | 0.5 % | 0.1 % |
| August | 6.6 % | 0.3 % | 3.5 % | 0.8 % | 1.0 % | 0.7 % | 0.2 % |
| July | 6.5 % | 3.4 % | 0.8 % | 1.0 % | 0.9 % | 0.2 % | |
| June | 7.1 % | 4.2 % | 0.8 % | 1.2 % | 0.9 % | 0.1 % | |
| May | 7.1 % | 4.1 % | 1.1 % | 1.2 % | 0.7 % | 0.1 % | |
| April | 8.0 % | 4.5 % | 1.0 % | 1.4 % | 1.0 % | 0.1 % | |
| March | 7.7 % | 4.1 % | 1.0 % | 1.4 % | 1.1 % | 0.1 % | |
| February | 8.0 % | 4.1 % | 1.1 % | 1.5 % | 1.2 % | 0.1 % | |
| January | 7.8 % | 3.7 % | 1.1 % | 1.4 % | 1.2 % | 0.2 % |
| 2014 | Total | IE 11 | IE 10 | IE 9 | IE 8 | IE 7 | IE 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | 8.0 % | 3.6 % | 1.1 % | 1.6 % | 1.3 % | 0.2 % | 0.0 % |
| November | 9.8 % | 4.7 % | 1.4 % | 1.8 % | 1.6 % | 0.3 % | 0.0 % |
| October | 9.5 % | 4.3 % | 1.5 % | 1.8 % | 1.6 % | 0.2 % | 0.0 % |
| September | 9.9 % | 3.8 % | 1.7 % | 2.4 % | 2.0 % | 0.3 % | 0.0 % |
| August | 8.3 % | 3.2 % | 1.4 % | 1.6 % | 1.8 % | 0.2 % | 0.0 % |
| July | 8.5 % | 3.0 % | 1.5 % | 1.8 % | 1.8 % | 0.2 % | 0.0 % |
| June | 8.8 % | 3.0 % | 1.4 % | 1.2 % | 2.1 % | 0.3 % | 0.1 % |
| May | 8.9 % | 2.7 % | 1.4 % | 1.9 % | 2.1 % | 0.2 % | 0.0 % |
| April | 9.4 % | 2.7 % | 1.6 % | 2.0 % | 2.4 % | 0.3 % | 0.1 % |
| March | 9.7 % | 2.6 % | 1.6 % | 2.1 % | 2.5 % | 0.3 % | 0.1 % |
| February | 9.8 % | 2.5 % | 1.7 % | 2.1 % | 2.7 % | 0.3 % | 0.1 % |
| January | 10.2 % | 2.5 % | 1.7 % | 2.3 % | 3.1 % | 0.4 % | 0.1 % |
| 2013 | Total | IE 11 | IE 10 | IE 9 | IE 8 | IE 7 | IE 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | 9.0 % | 0.8 % | 2.1 % | 2.4 % | 3.2 % | 0.4 % | 0.1 % |
| November | 10.5 % | 3.5 % | 2.5 % | 3.6 % | 0.5 % | 0.1 % | |
| October | 11.7 % | 4.0 % | 3.0 % | 4.1 % | 0.5 % | 0.1 % | |
| September | 12.1 % | 4.0 % | 2.8 % | 4.6 % | 0.6 % | 0.1 % | |
| August | 11.8 % | 3.6 % | 2.8 % | 4.7 % | 0.6 % | 0.1 % | |
| July | 11.8 % | 3.3 % | 2.8 % | 4.8 % | 0.7 % | 0.1 % | |
| June | 12.0 % | 3.1 % | 3.2 % | 4.9 % | 0.7 % | 0.1 % | |
| May | 12.6 % | 2.6 % | 3.9 % | 5.2 % | 0.8 % | 0.1 % | |
| April | 12.7 % | 2.0 % | 4.4 % | 5.3 % | 0.8 % | 0.1 % | |
| March | 12.9 % | 1.3 % | 5.2 % | 5.5 % | 0.8 % | 0.2 % | |
| February | 13.5 % | 0.9 % | 5.7 % | 5.8 % | 0.9 % | 0.2 % | |
| January | 14.3 % | 0.8 % | 5.9 % | 6.4 % | 1.0 % | 0.3 % |
| 2012 | Total | IE 10 | IE 9 | IE 8 | IE 7 | IE 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | 14.7 % | 0.6 % | 5.9 % | 6.8 % | 1.1 % | 0.3 % |
| November | 15.1 % | 0.4 % | 6.5 % | 6.8 % | 1.1 % | 0.3 % |
| October | 16.1 % | 0.2 % | 6.8 % | 7.6 % | 1.2 % | 0.3 % |
| September | 16.4 % | 0.2 % | 6.6 % | 7.9 % | 1.3 % | 0.4 % |
| August | 16.2 % | 0.1 % | 6.1 % | 7.8 % | 1.8 % | 0.5 % |
| July | 16.3 % | 0.1 % | 5.9 % | 7.9 % | 2.0 % | 0.6 % |
| June | 16.7 % | 0.1 % | 6.1 % | 8.0 % | 1.9 % | 0.6 % |
| May | 18.1 % | 0.1 % | 6.5 % | 8.8 % | 2.1 % | 0.6 % |
| April | 18.3 % | 0.1 % | 6.4 % | 8.8 % | 2.3 % | 0.7 % |
| March | 18.9 % | 0.0 % | 6.1 % | 9.4 % | 2.5 % | 0.9 % |
| February | 19.5 % | 0.0 % | 5.7 % | 10.2 % | 2.6 % | 1.0 % |
| January | 20.1 % | 0.1 % | 5.3 % | 10.5 % | 3.1 % | 1.1 % |
| 2011 | Total | IE 9 | IE 8 | IE 7 | IE 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | 20.2 % | 5.1 % | 10.7 % | 3.2 % | 1.2 % |
| November | 21.2 % | 5.1 % | 11.5 % | 3.4 % | 1.2 % |
| October | 21.7 % | 5.1 % | 11.8 % | 3.5 % | 1.3 % |
| September | 22.9 % | 4.8 % | 12.4 % | 3.9 % | 1.8 % |
| August | 22.5 % | 4.2 % | 11.9 % | 4.2 % | 2.0 % |
| July | 22.0 % | 3.9 % | 11.7 % | 4.1 % | 2.3 % |
| June | 23.2 % | 3.6 % | 12.9 % | 4.4 % | 2.3 % |
| May | 24.9 % | 3.1 % | 14.1 % | 5.3 % | 2.4 % |
| April | 24.3 % | 2.1 % | 14.8 % | 4.9 % | 2.5 % |
| March | 25.8 % | 1.1 % | 16.3 % | 5.4 % | 3.0 % |
| February | 26.5 % | 0.6 % | 16.7 % | 5.7 % | 3.5 % |
| January | 26.6 % | 0.5 % | 16.6 % | 5.7 % | 3.8 % |
| 2010 | Total | IE 9 | IE 8 | IE 7 | IE 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | 27.5 % | 0.5 % | 16.5 % | 6.1 % | 4.4 % |
| November | 28.6 % | 0.4 % | 17.6 % | 6.5 % | 4.1 % |
| October | 29.7 % | 0.4 % | 17.3 % | 7.2 % | 4.8 % |
| September | 31.1 % | 0.2 % | 17.3 % | 8.0 % | 5.6 % |
| August | 30.7 % | 16.2 % | 7.8 % | 6.7 % | |
| July | 30.4 % | 15.6 % | 7.6 % | 7.2 % | |
| June | 31.0 % | 15.7 % | 8.1 % | 7.2 % | |
| May | 32.2 % | 16.0 % | 9.1 % | 7.1 % | |
| April | 33.4 % | 16.2 % | 9.3 % | 7.9 % | |
| March | 34.9 % | 15.3 % | 10.7 % | 8.9 % | |
| February | 35.3 % | 14.7 % | 11.0 % | 9.6 % | |
| January | 36.2 % | 14.3 % | 11.7 % | 10.2 % |
| 2009 | Total | IE 8 | IE 7 | IE 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | 37.2 % | 13.5 % | 12.8 % | 10.9 % |
| November | 37.7 % | 13.3 % | 13.3 % | 11.1 % |
| October | 37.5 % | 12.8 % | 14.1 % | 10.6 % |
| September | 39.6 % | 12.2 % | 15.3 % | 12.1 % |
| August | 39.3 % | 10.6 % | 15.1 % | 13.6 % |
| July | 39.4 % | 9.1 % | 15.9 % | 14.4 % |
| June | 40.7 % | 7.1 % | 18.7 % | 14.9 % |
| May | 41.0 % | 5.2 % | 21.3 % | 14.5 % |
| April | 42.1 % | 3.5 % | 23.2 % | 15.4 % |
| March | 43.3 % | 1.4 % | 24.9 % | 17.0 % |
| February | 43.6 % | 0.8 % | 25.4 % | 17.4 % |
| January | 44.8 % | 0.6 % | 25.7 % | 18.5 % |
| 2008 | Total | IE 7 | IE 6 | IE 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | 46.0 % | 26.1 % | 19.6 % | 0.3 % |
| November | 47.0 % | 26.6 % | 20.0 % | 0.4 % |
| October | 47.4 % | 26.9 % | 20.2 % | 0.3 % |
| September | 49.0 % | 26.3 % | 22.3 % | 0.4 % |
| August | 51.0 % | 26.0 % | 24.5 % | 0.5 % |
| July | 52.4 % | 26.4 % | 25.3 % | 0.7 % |
| June | 54.2 % | 27.0 % | 26.5 % | 0.7 % |
| May | 54.4 % | 26.5 % | 27.3 % | 0.6 % |
| April | 54.8 % | 24.9 % | 28.9 % | 1.0 % |
| March | 53.9 % | 23.3 % | 29.5 % | 1.1 % |
| February | 54.7 % | 22.7 % | 30.7 % | 1.3 % |
| January | 54.7 % | 21.2 % | 32.0 % | 1.5 % |
| 2007 | Total | IE 7 | IE 6 | IE 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | 56.0 % | 20.8 % | 33.6 % | 1.6 % |
| September | 57.2 % | 20.8 % | 34.9 % | 1.5 % |
| July | 58.5 % | 20.1 % | 36.9 % | 1.5 % |
| May | 58.9 % | 19.2 % | 38.1 % | 1.6 % |
| March | 58.7 % | 18.0 % | 38.7 % | 2.0 % |
| January | 58.6 % | 13.3 % | 42.3 % | 3.0 % |
| 2006 | Total | IE 7 | IE 6 | IE 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | 60.6 % | 7.1 % | 49.9 % | 3.6 % |
| September | 62.1 % | 2.5 % | 55.6 % | 4.0 % |
| July | 62.4 % | 1.9 % | 56.3 % | 4.2 % |
| May | 63.0 % | 1.1 % | 57.4 % | 4.5 % |
| March | 64.7 % | 0.6 % | 58.8 % | 5.3 % |
| January | 66.0 % | 0.2 % | 60.3 % | 5.5 % |
| 2005 | Total | IE 6 | IE 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| November | 68.9 % | 62.7 % | 6.2 % |
| September | 75.5 % | 69.8 % | 5.7 % |
| July | 73.8 % | 67.9 % | 5.9 % |
| May | 71.6 % | 64.8 % | 6.8 % |
| March | 72.5 % | 63.6 % | 8.9 % |
| January | 74.5 % | 64.8 % | 9.7 % |
| 2004 | Total | IE 6 | IE 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| November | 76.2 % | 66.0 % | 10.2 % |
| September | 79.0 % | 67.8 % | 11.2 % |
| July | 80.4 % | 67.2 % | 13.2 % |
| May | 81.9 % | 68.1 % | 13.8 % |
| March | 82.8 % | 68.2 % | 14.6 % |
| January | 84.7 % | 68.9 % | 15.8 % |
| 2003 | Total | IE 6 | IE 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| November | 84.9 % | 71.2 % | 13.7 % |
| September | 86.6 % | 69.7 % | 16.9 % |
| July | 87.2 % | 66.9 % | 20.3 % |
| May | 87.7 % | 65.0 % | 22.7 % |
| March | 88.0 % | 63.4 % | 24.6 % |
| January | 84.6 % | 55.3 % | 29.3 % |
| 2002 | Total | IE 6 | IE 5 | IE4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November | 83.4 % | 53.5 % | 29.9 % | |
| September | 83.5 % | 49.1 % | 34.4 % | |
| July | 85.0 % | 44.4 % | 40.1 % | 0.5% |
| May | 87.4 % | 40.7 % | 46.0 % | 0.7% |
| March | 86.8 % | 36.7 % | 49.4 % | 0.7% |
| January | 86.8 % | 30.1 % | 55.7 % | 1.0% |
Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Edge was released on July 29, 2015.
Microsoft Edge replaced Internet Explorer as the default browser on Windows 10. It is also the default browser in Windows 10 for smartphones and tablets. Edge is exclusive to Windows 10 and cannot be used on previous Windows versions.
Microsoft Edge is designed to be a lightweight web browser with a layout engine built around web standards, and Microsoft has committed to updating Edge to embrace new and existing standards that it does not yet support.
Internet Explorer 11
For Windows 8.1: Internet Explorer 11 was released on October 17, 2013.
For Windows 7: Internet Explorer 11 was released on November 7, 2013.
New features:
- Performance improvements
- All new F12 Developer Tools
- WebGL support
- High DPI support
- CSS3 border-image support
- CSS Flexbox support
- Supports SPDY (on Windows 8.1 only)
- Supports Full Screen and Orientation APIs
- Enhanced support for users on touch-based devices
- JavaScript enhancements
- DOM mutation observers
- Web Cryptography API
- Video text track support
- Encrypted media support
- Improved HTML editor
IE 11 REMOVED FEATURES:
- document.all is deprecated (code that checks for its presence will not detect it, but code that actually uses it will continue to work)
- attachEvent
- Quick tabs (CTRL+Q)
- "Work offline" command removed from File menu
- Drag and drop of selected content from IE to other programs like Word
- Use large icons for command buttons
- The ability to view all cookies at once in Developer Tools
IE 11 is fast and standards compliant. However, its major drawback is that it does not run on OS versions earlier than Windows 7 and does not offer syncing for that OS!
Internet Explorer 10
Internet Explorer 10 was released on September 4, 2012, and is the default browser in Windows 8.
In February 2013, Internet Explorer 10 became available for download to all Windows 7 SP1 users.
New features:
- 20% faster than IE9
- Updated support for HTML5 - Now supports async attribute in <script> tag, AppCache API, channel messaging, drag and drop API, history, parsing, Sandbox, Spellcheck, video, Web Workers, and WebSockets
- Updated support for CSS3 - Now supports transforms, animation, fonts, gradients, transitions, text-shadow, and removal of style sheet limits
- Updated support for the DOM - Now supports advanced hit-testing APIs, media query listeners, XMLHttpRequest enhancements, and pointer and gesture events
- Updated support for SVG - Now supports SVG and filters
- Updated support for Indexed Database API
- Integrated spell checking and auto-correct features
- Adobe Flash Integration - Includes a built-in Adobe Flash Player
- Added functionality for touch screen users - Full screen touch browsers
- Flip Ahead - Quickly move to the next page in a website with a swipe gesture on touch screen devices
- New user agent string - Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; MSIE 10.0; Windows NT 6.2; [platform token] Trident/6.0; Touch)
IE 10 NO LONGER supports the following:
- XML data islands
- VML (Vector Markup Language)
- HTC (Element behaviors and HTML components)
- DX filters (DirectX-based filters/transitions)
- Conditional comments (conditional statements interpreted by IE in HTML source code, like: <!--[if IE 6]>. Used to provide and hide code to and from IE)
- Content advisor (taken over by Windows Parental Controls)
Internet Explorer 9
Internet Explorer 9 was released in March 2011.
New features:
- Revamped Interface - Gives you the basic controls and puts the focus on site viewing
- Breezing Fast Speed - IE9 is much faster than its previous IE versions. Hardware-accelerated text, video and graphics speed up performance that makes websites perform like programs installed on your computer. Also, IE9 uses video card to make everything faster
- Pin Websites To Windows 7 Taskbar - Microsoft have partnership with sites like Facebook, Twitter and Pandora which allows you to see own taskbar complete with jumplist support
- Unified Address Bar - The address bar is a unified box for navigating the site or start a search
- Redesigned New Tab Page - Gives a quick access to the sites you visit often. You can also reopen closed tabs, or your last browsing session, or start a new InPrivate browsing session
- Improved Add-on Management - A new feature called Add-on Performance Adviser gives you an idea about which add-on is slowing down your browsers and allows you to remove it
- Better Privacy Features - The tracking protection feature enables you to limit the sites that can track your information
- Better HTML5/CSS3 Support - IE9 also supports SVG and Canvas graphics
- New Download Manager - Allows you to view files that are downloading through your browser, and notifies when a file is malicious or contains viruses. It also helps you to pause any of the download and resume it later.
- Enhanced Tab Management - You can easily move tabs between windows by tearing them from one window to another. After placing your tab in a new windows it won't reload the page.
Internet Explorer 8
Internet Explorer 8 was released in March 2009.
New features:
- Accelerators - quick access to web services. E.g. On a restaurant web site, click within the page to get maps, news, information, or share it on Facebook
- Web Slice - keep up with changes to the sites you care about most
- Compatibility View - shows the page as in IE7
- Search Suggestions - get suggested content as you type
- New Tab features - reopen accidentally closed tabs, and group related tabs together with color codes
- Tab isolation - prevents a faulty web site from crashing the whole browser. Only the tab with the error will close
- InPrivate Browsing - browse the web without saving any data (like passwords, cookies, browsing history, etc.)
- SmartScreen Filter - protects you against installation of malware, or malicious software which can compromise your data, privacy, and identity, and also damaging your computer and valuable data
IE 8 has full support for CSS 2.1. In addition, it has fixed many cross-browser inconsistencies such as get/set/removeAttribute, default attributes, Attribute object and the <q> tag.
Internet Explorer 7
Internet Explorer 7.0 was released in November 2006. IE7 was the standard browser in Windows XP with Service Pack 2.
New features:
- Advanced printing - automatically scales a webpage for printing
- Instant Search box
- Favorites Center
- RSS feeds - automatically detects RSS feeds
- Tabbed browsing - view multiple sites in a single browser window
- Quick Tabs
- Tab Groups
- Page zoom
Internet Explorer for Macintosh
Microsoft ended support for Internet Explorer for Mac on December 31, 2005.
Mac users are recommended to use other browsers, such as Apple Safari.
Older Internet Explorer Versions
IE 6.0 (released in 2001). Was the standard browser in Windows XP.
IE 5.5 (released in 2000) Support for XML/XSL, CSS, print preview and HTC behaviors.
IE 5.0 (released in 1999) The first major browser with XML support.
IE 4.0 (released in 1997). Support for CSS and DOM.
IE 3.0 (released in 1996) is now used by less than 0.1%.
IE 2.0 (released in 1995). It is too old. Nobody uses it.
IE 1.0 (released in 1995). Does anyone remember it?
Microsoft Internet Explorer Resources
Microsoft's Support
Site
Microsoft's support website has a searchable knowledge database, articles, forums,
and tutorials full of solutions and tips for a better experience.
