Mozilla Firefox is latest browser to kill off Adobe Flash support

Mozilla, the parent company of the Firefox Web browser, is following the lead of others by greatly reducing the browser’s use of Adobe Flash.

Mozilla said in July that from 2017, Firefox will require click-to-activate approval from users before a website activates the Flash plugin for any content.

Mozilla Firefox is now planning to block Adobe Flash contents on August to reduce browser crashes. It’s responsible for security issues, reduced battery life and slow page loads.

As websites have migrated from Flash to other web technologies, he adds, plugin crash rates have dropped considerably. But, over a period of time, the list will include a lot more Flash content blocked by Firefox.

Apple head honcho Steve Jobs refused to allow Flash on iGadgets – citing performance, security and interoperability concerns – in one of his famous open letters which had the power to change the course of an entire industry.

Firefox maker Mozilla is clamping down harder on Flash. Although Adobe initially tried to push Flash on mobile devices, it abandoned that effort in 2011, leaving it without a presence in the fastest growing and now largest platform for web consumption.

Mozilla notes in a linked code repository that it blocks two kinds of Flash uses for objects that are 5-by-5 pixels or smaller: fingerprinting and supercookies. Microsoft announced in May that it would end support for Flash player in future updates to its Edge browser, while Google has announced plans to completely remove all Flash-based advertising in favour of HTML5 by January 2017.

“Websites that now use Flash or Silverlight for video or games should plan on adopting HTML technologies as soon as possible”, Smedberg warned. Mozilla says it plans to extend this list over time as developers rely less and less on the unsecure plugin. Even Adobe is moving away from Flash on the web. However, keep in mind that this doesn’t mean that the Adobe Flash Player will not “live” inside the upcoming Mozilla Firefox version 48. According to Mozilla, its browser has encountering fewer crashes since sites have started serving HTML5 media rather than Flash. It’s buggy, insecure, sucks the soul out of your battery, and honestly you should’ve disabled Flash by now anyway.