Adobe Officially Ends Flash Support, Recommends Uninstalling Immediately

Adobe in 2017 announced plans to end support for its Flash browser plug-in at the end of 2020. Now that it's officially 2021, support for the software has ended, and Adobe will begin blocking content from running in Flash Player beginning on January 12.

adobe flash logo
Flash's elimination should not heavily impact users because many popular browsers have already moved away from the format. Additionally, iPhone and iPad users are not affected by the change, as iOS and iPadOS have never supported Flash.

Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs offered his "Thoughts on Flash" in a 2010 open letter, criticizing Adobe's software for its 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."

In the past, Adobe's Flash Player had 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.

Since Flash Player will no longer receive updates, Adobe recommends that all users immediately remove the software "to help protect their systems."

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
m5 macbook pro deal

Why You Shouldn't Buy the Next MacBook Pro

Tuesday February 10, 2026 4:27 pm PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models as soon as early March, but if you can, this is one generation you should skip because there's something much better in the works. We're waiting on 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, with few changes other than the processor upgrade. There won't be any tweaks to the design or the display, but later this...
apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro

Apple Says These 7 U.S. States Plan to Offer iPhone Driver's Licenses

Monday February 9, 2026 6:24 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, and then use it to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. The feature is currently available in 13 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, and it is expected to launch in at least seven more in the future. To set up the...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3

Wednesday February 11, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.3 and iPadOS 26.3, the latest updates to the iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 operating systems that came out in September. The new software comes almost two months after Apple released iOS 26.2 and iPadOS 26.2. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. According to Apple's release notes, ...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Apple Expected to Launch These 10+ Products Over the Coming Months

Tuesday February 10, 2026 6:33 am PST by
It has been a slow start to 2026 for Apple product launches, with only a new AirTag and a special Apple Watch band released so far. We are still waiting for MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the iPhone 17e, a lower-cost MacBook with an iPhone chip, long-rumored updates to the Apple TV and HomePod mini, and much more. Apple is expected to release/update the following products...

Top Rated Comments

67 months ago
Good riddance to Flash, RealPlayer, Divx, SilverLight, and all of the other crap codecs and plug-ins that made early multimedia such a catastrophe. Some of it may have been necessary, but in the end it seem to serve everyone except the end-user.
Score: 44 Votes (Like | Disagree)
eRondeau Avatar
67 months ago
A little perspective...

Flash was released by Macromedia 25 years ago, which was purchased by Adobe in 2005. At that time the web was in an uncomfortable transition from a text-based environment to a multimedia environment. The demand for rich content was strong except nobody knew quite how to do it. The eventual winner (HTML-5) was still years away, so for a decade Flash was about the only reliable way to get video & multimedia online. Flash dominated "Web 2.0" for years and professional Flash websites were stunningly impressive indeed. Its downfall is well-documented in Steve Jobs' open letter and elsewhere, but in the years before many young adults reading this were born -- Flash was ubiquitous online and in many ways was the backbone of the public internet.
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Abazigal Avatar
67 months ago
The lesson that Apple keeps teaching, and which others keep ignoring, is that to bring about meaningful change, you have to be bold and unapologetic in forcing about the change you want to see.

What will be next, I wonder.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cmaier Avatar
67 months ago
What cracks me up is that some of the same people who currently complain about Apple’s non-support of X, Y or Z are the same people who insisted Apple was doomed for not supporting flash on iPhoneOS.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
67 months ago
If only websites stopped using it. I stopped using Flash a while ago and yet I have visited so many websites (e.g. banks, car sites) that need Flash, so I just end up leaving.
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hot-gril Avatar
67 months ago

If only websites stopped using it. I stopped using Flash a while ago and yet I have visited so many websites (e.g. banks, car sites) that need Flash, so I just end up leaving.
I'd be very scared if my money were managed in a Flash program.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)