It’s time to uninstall Adobe Flash Player.
Following Adobe’s 2017 announcement of its plans to end support of its Flash browser plug-in at the end of 2020, the time has now passed and support for the software has ended. From now on, Adobe will begin blocking content from running in Flash Player beginning on January 12.
Flash’s elimination should heavily impact users given that most web browsers have moved away from the format. The change will also not affect iPhone and iPad users, as neither iOS or iPadOS supported Flash.
As of 2010, Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs critiqued Flash in an open letter, citing its lack of reliability, incompatibility with mobile sites, and battery drain on mobile devices. Jobs also said that Adobe was “painfully slow to adopt enhancements to Apple’s platforms” and further innovation from Apple would not be hindered by a “cross platform development tool.”
Though venerable, Flash Player continually suffered from vulnerabilities that exposed Mac and PC users to malware and other security risks that caused vendors like Microsoft and Apple to work tirelessly to keep up with security fixes.
Given that Flash Player will no longer receive updates, Adobe has recommended that all users immediately remove the software “to help protect their systems.”
Stay tuned for additional details as they become available.