Adobe is finally getting rid of Flash once and for all. Google’s Chrome browser, Microsoft Edge, and Apple’s Safari browser have all blocked Flash, but Adobe has stated that they are planning to fully remove support for it by the end of 2020. “We will stop updating and distributing the Flash Player at the end of 2020 and encourage content creators to migrate any existing Flash content to these new open formats,” said Adobe.
There are still numerous gaming, education, and video sites which still use Flash, but they need not worry as Adobe says that it, along with partners like Apple, Google, Facebook and Microsoft, is committed to supporting the technology until 2020.
2020 will be the end of an era for Flash, but it’s been a long time coming. Standards such as HTML5 have been implemented across modern web browsers and thanks to the way the media consumption industry has changed, there isn’t a need for Flash anymore.
Apple says that it’s working with Adobe, industry partners, and developers to complete this transition; but also points out that “Apple users have been experiencing the web without Flash for some time. iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch never supported Flash. For the Mac, the transition from Flash began in 2010 when Flash was no longer pre-installed. Today, if users install Flash, it remains off by default. Safari requires explicit approval on each website before running the Flash plugin.”
Microsoft says that it will phase out support for Flash in Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer ahead 2020 and that in mid to late 2019, they will disable Flash by default in both Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer. The company says that you will be able to re-enable Flash in both browsers however, when re-enabled, Microsoft Edge will continue to require approval for Flash on a site-by-site basis. This will all culminate in the removal of Flash from Windows entirely by the end of 2020, meaning that you will no longer have any ability to enable or run Flash.
Google says that it will continue phasing out Flash over the next few years, first by asking for your permission to run Flash in more situations, and eventually disabling it by default. The company says that it will remove Flash completely from Chrome toward the end of 2020.
Mozilla says that starting next month, you’ll be able to choose which websites are able to run the Flash plugin. Flash will be disabled by default for most people in 2019, and only if you’re running the Firefox Extended Support Release (ESR) will you be able to continue using Flash through the final end-of-life at the end of 2020. Mozilla says that in order to preserve your security, once Flash is no longer supported by Adobe security patches, no version of Firefox will load the plugin.
