Microsoft Edge will drop support for Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1 after the release of version 109 on January 12, 2023.

The decision to no longer provide Windows 7/8.1 support for Edge users aligns almost perfectly with the end of Extended Security Update (ESU) support for Windows 7 and Windows 8 /8.1 on January 10, 2023.

“While Microsoft Edge and Webview2 Runtime versions 109 and earlier will continue to work on these operating systems, these versions will not receive new features, future security updates, or bug fixes,” the company said. society. said.

“Microsoft Edge version 109 will also be the last supported version for Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2012 R2.”

Users who want to install new versions of Microsoft Edge or Webview2 Runtime (used to embed web content into your native apps) that bundle the latest security updates released are advised to upgrade to Windows 10 or later version.

Microsoft is also encouraging developers to stop providing support for Windows 7 and 8/8.1 to ensure their users upgrade by January 10, 2023 to a still-supported version of Windows to continue. to receive security updates for their devices.

Windows 7 still runs on more than 10.25% of all Windows systems worldwide, while Windows 8.1 is only 2.53%, according to GlobalStats statistics counter.

Today’s announcement follows a similar announcement made by Google in October when the company announced that Google Chrome likely dropping support for Windows 7 and 8.1 from February 2023.

“Chrome 109 is the last version of Chrome that will support Windows 7 and Windows 8/8.1. Chrome 110 (tentatively scheduled for release on February 7, 2023) is the first version of Chrome that requires Windows 10 or later” , said a Google employee. said.

Google has also advised its users to update their devices to Windows 10 or later to update future versions of Chrome.

Just like Microsoft Edge, older versions of Google Chrome will still work, but they will no longer receive bug fixes or software updates, exposing their users to security risks.

The Google Chrome web browser currently has a market share of more than 65%followed by Safari with around 18% and Microsoft Edge with 4.32 (which uses Chrome’s Blink rendering engine with improvements from Microsoft).

Other companies have already dropped support for Windows 7, NVIDIA, for example, no longer providing Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 drivers since last year, from October 2021.