Updated at: Apr 19, 2026
Internet Explorer is a web browser built by Microsoft Corporation. It was one of the first major web browsers to be produced and is by far the longest lasting one. It first launched in August 1995 and now the latest (and final) version is Internet Explorer 11; released October 2013.
Internet Explorer is tightly linked to the Windows Operating System; as such, different versions of Windows can only run certain versions of Internet Explorer.
Do you need to know what version of Internet Explorer do I have?
| Windows operating system | Latest version of Internet Explorer | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 11 | Internet Explorer does not run on Windows 11 | N/A |
| Windows 10* | Internet Explorer 11.0 - Unsupported | 2019-12-10 |
| Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1 | Internet Explorer 11.0 - Unsupported | 2019-12-10 |
| Windows 8, Windows RT | Internet Explorer 10.0 - Unsupported | 2016-12-13 |
| Windows 7 | Internet Explorer 11.0 - Unsupported | 2019-12-10 |
| Windows Vista | Internet Explorer 9.0 - Unsupported | 2011-03-14 | Windows XP | Internet Explorer 8.0 - Unsupported | 2009-03-19 |
Our Browser Versions API provides the latest version numbers for Chrome and the other major browsers. You can easily incorporate this data into your own system.
Starting January 12, 2016, Microsoft stopped supporting all versions of Internet Explorer except the latest version: version 11.
As you can tell from the table above, older versions of Windows are simply unable to run the latest version of Internet Explorer.
If you are using a version of Windows which doesn't support Internet Explorer 11, you should immediately stop using Internet Explorer and either switch to Chrome or Firefox, or upgrade your copy of Windows.
Older versions of Internet Explorer have security problems which will never be fixed and using it will leave you vulnerable to all sorts of problems on the internet. Many websites, such as Facebook, Youtube and Gmail are no longer supporting old versions of Internet Explorer.
Here is Microsoft's statement on their Support Lifecycle.
Here is Microsoft's Press Release about dropping support for Internet Explorer.
Microsoft's new web browser is called Edge. It leaves behind the legacy and problems of Internet Explorer and is Microsoft's new web browser for the modern age. Congratulations to Microsoft for drawing a line in the sand and opening a new chapter for web browsing.