Internet Explorer has always been a reference browser on the Internet, the browser to follow, not because it was good, but because it is one of the few compatible with most public administrations in many countries, public administrations anchored in the past, hence Many users are looking for a way to install Internet Explorer on Android and iOS.
Microsoft has been doing everything possible to forget about this browser, the most popular in the late 90s and early 2000s. In fact, the last update this browser received was in 2013. Since then, it has only received security updates . In 2022, it will disappear completely from Windows 10, after not being included in Windows 11.
Internet Explorer was the third browser to become popular when the Internet began to become popular, after Mosaic and Netscape. With the launch of Windows 95, Microsoft included this browser natively, a browser that at the end of the 90s, reached a 90% share while Netscape and Mosaic were disappearing to leave a trace.
Well, in the case of Netscape it did leave a trace, a trace that became Firefox. The Mozilla Foundation took advantage of the fact that those responsible for Netscape released the code before abandoning it, code that was used by this foundation to create a free and open browser.
In 2008, Google launched Chrome, a browser that little by little was eating up the rest of browsers and currently has an approximate share of 60%, although it was much higher a couple of years ago.
macOS also has its own browser, Safari, the default browser on all the devices that Apple launches on the market, managed by both macOS and iOS on mobile devices.
Use Internet Explorer on an iPad
Considering that Microsoft abandoned Internet Explorer in 2013, don't expect to find this app on iPadOS, iOS, or any other ecosystem. The only operating system that continues to update Internet Explorer, at least in terms of security is Windows.
If you would like to use Internet Explorer on an iPad, you can do it through browsers that allow us to emulate their environment. The only browser available for iOS that allows us to emulate the Internet Explorer environment is Dolphin Browser, a completely free emulator, but it has not been updated since 2019.
This browser, within the browser options, allows us to modify the user agent for Internet Explorer, so that the web identifies our browser as if it were this and allows us to interact with it as if we were doing it physically from a Windows computer.
Use Internet Explorer on Android
In Android, as in iPadOS, we will not find a version of Internet Explorer either, so the only option we have is to emulate the environment through another browser, modifying the user agent.
The user agent in a code that the browser uses to identify itself on the web pages it visits, hence when we visit a web page from Windows or macOS, it only shows us the version to download compatible with our operating system.
Dolphin Browser
While the version of Dolphin Browser for iOS has not been updated since 2019, the version for Android is updated regularly and, like the version for iOS, allows us to modify the user agent to emulate Internet Explorer.
However, we cannot directly choose Internet Explorer from the User Agent menu, so we have to enter the code: "Mozilla / 5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Trident / 7.0; rv: 11.0) like Gecko" in the Agent section user - Custom.
In case you are curious, Trident is the name of the rendering engine used by Internet Explorer, a rendering engine created by Microsoft and Gecko, it is the rendering engine of Firefox.
Dolphin Browser is available for your download for free, includes ads, but no in-app purchases.
Flow Any Browser
The FlowAny Browser browser allows us to visit any web page that we need as if it were Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome or Safari.
FlowAny is an anonymous browser developed for Android phones that includes interesting privacy-related features.
When using private mode, exiting the application will delete all browser usage records, including history, cookies, and sessions.
With FlowAny, in addition, we can easily download videos and images from Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Instagram, Vimeo and other websites.
FlowAny Browser is available for download completely free of charge and contains ads, but no in-app purchases.
chamelon browser
The last update that the Chamelon browser application received was in 2014, which is not a problem, in fact, it is an advantage since, in this way, the application has not been updated and it was possible to eliminate support for Internet Explorer.
Chamelon browser, allows us to emulate the most used browsers and operating systems of 2014, although the only option today that is really valid for users is the possibility of emulating the Internet Explorer environment.
The application could not be simpler. Once we open it, enter the url of the web that we want to visit and click Select User Agent, to select Internet Explorer and click on the Go button.
DevBrowser
Another browser that allows us to use the Internet Explorer user agent is Dev Browser, a browser that includes a large number of advanced functions and tools for developers. In addition, it is paid, so unless you are a developer, you will get little or no advantage beyond being able to visit web pages as if it were Internet Explorer.
Little more
If we do a search in the Play Store with the terms Internet Explorer, a large number of results will be displayed, however, none of them are the official Microsoft application or allow us to navigate like any other browser.
The best we can do is not download them on our device. Being applications that copy a name so blatantly, we cannot expect anything good from them, although I continue to understand why Google allows them in the store and Microsoft has not demanded their withdrawal.