14 DAY TRIAL // The world is slowly but surely stepping away from Flash given its security vulnerabilities, and Microsoft becomes one of the latest companies to do it.
The recently-released Windows 10 build 15002, available exclusively to the Fast ring, is the very first version of the company’s operating system that starts blocking Flash in Edge browser, with the very same behavior to be introduced in the Creators Update due in spring.
Starting with this build, Microsoft Edge will load the HTML5 version of a website, if it’s available, in order to encourage the transition off Flash. If HTML5 can’t be loaded, the browser goes for the Flash version, but relies on a click-to-run system to give users control over the displayed content.
More Flash controls coming soon
Microsoft says that this is just the beginning of the transition from Flash, and explains that future Windows 10 builds will implement more controls to encourage the switch to HTML5.
“Microsoft Edge will now block untrusted Flash content by default until the user explicitly chooses to play it. This means better security, stability, and performance for you, while preserving the option to run Flash when you choose,” Dona Sarkar, head of the Windows Insider program, said in a post announcing the new Windows Insider build.
“We will be evolving this experience in upcoming flights to make the option to run Flash content more contextually obvious.”
According to the software giant itself, going for HTML5 instead of Flash helps improve not only security but also performance and battery life, as the company is betting big on technologies that can help provide longer autonomy to users of its latest operating system.
Microsoft says that, at first, only some websites will be affected by its push from Flash to HTML5, but over time and depending on the feedback the company receives, the same click-to-run behavior should impact more websites by the time the Creators Update goes live in April.