Adobe Goes On Record About The Death Of Flash And When
Adobe today confirmed that it will no longer distribute or update Flash by the close of the year 2020. Hopefully, the “true” demise of Flash will happen quickly after that point since there will be no security updates to protect users from the scores of exploits that plague the software. With no support from Adobe, customers and developers would be well advised to stay far away from Flash.
Adobe is confident that the timing is right to call for an end to Flash given that new open standards have risen to take its place including HTML5, WebGL and WebAssembly. In addition, top internet browsers like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge have already begun blocking Flash content by default.
However, Adobe doesn’t just want to pull the rug from under companies and organizations that rely on Flash, which is why it is giving the plugin another three years on life support and is working with technology partners like Facebook, Microsoft and Google to ensure that it is maintained until 2020:
Several industries and businesses have been built around Flash technology – including gaming, education and video – and we remain committed to supporting Flash through 2020, as customers and partners put their migration plans into place. Adobe will continue to support Flash on a number of major OSs and browsers that currently support Flash content through the planned EOL. This will include issuing regular security patches, maintaining OS and browser compatibility and adding features and capabilities as needed.
The eventual death of Flash might be further away than many of us would like, but at least we know when we can show up for the funeral. However, it’s doubtful that many in the tech industry will mourn its passing.
