14 DAY TRIAL // It’s certainly the end of an era, as Adobe has just announced that it’s killing off Flash Player, with the largest tech companies now preparing for this major milestone to also switch to alternative solutions.
Microsoft is one of them, and the software confirms today that Flash Player would be removed entirely from Windows by the end of 2020. Flash Player is part of Microsoft’s modern browsers, including both Edge and Internet Explorer 11, and it is updated via Windows Update on Patch Tuesday.
Microsoft says the process of removing Flash from Windows has already started in Edge browser in Windows 10 with the Click-to-Run for Flash, which blocks Flash content by default and prompts users to manually allow it to be played. This is more of a security feature to block possible exploits in Flash, but Microsoft says it should help the company during the transition off Adobe’s software.
4 major milestones for Windows users
The process of stepping away from Flash is divided into 4 different milestones for Microsoft and its customers, the first of which will begin later this year and will continue until 2018.
“Microsoft Edge will continue to ask users for permission to run Flash on most sites the first time the site is visited, and will remember the user’s preference on subsequent visits. Internet Explorer will continue to allow Flash with no special permissions required during this time,” Microsoft details the first step.
Next year, Microsoft Edge will be updated to display a prompt and require permission for Flash to run in each session, while Internet Explorer will continue to allow Flash for all sites.
The next step will come into effect in mid to late 2019 when Flash will be disabled by default in both browsers and users will have to manually re-enable it.
And last but not least, by the end of 2020, Flash will be removed completely from both browsers and users will no longer be allowed to enable or run Flash in Edge and Internet Explorer.