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Published image, Getty Images / David Firth
Flash has been a popular media player for decades
The popular Adobe Flash Player, a browser plug-in that brought rich, interactive animations to the very beginning of the internet, officially reached end of life at the end of 2020.
Flash came out in 1996, and it was one of the most popular ways for people to stream videos and play games online.
But it was plagued by security concerns and failed to make the transition to the age of smartphones.
Adobe will no longer provide security updates to the program and it has urged users to uninstall it.
The company will also completely stop the exploitation of video clips and animations throughout the program, starting January 12.
Why was Flash common?
When Flash was first released, the majority of users were connected to the Internet through a landline, and that connection was very slow by today’s standards.
But Flash has made it possible for web designers and animators to deliver compelling content that can be downloaded relatively quickly.
What happened?
Flash once meant more than just animation, it also allows websites like YouTube to deliver high quality videos.
In 2009, Adobe reported that Flash had been installed on 99% of desktop computers connected to the Internet.
Published image, Reuters
Flash was criticized by Apple president Steve Jobs
But by then, the world was moving towards mobile devices and Adobe was slow to keep pace.
In April 2010, Steve Jobs, president of Apple, wrote a violent open letter, titled “Thoughts on Flash”, in which he explained why Apple did not allow Flash to run on its iPhone and iPad.
Jobs believed Flash was too slow to be used on a touchscreen, unreliable, and posed a security threat and diminished battery life.
Instead, he said, videos and animation could be streamed, using HTML5 and other open technologies, making Flash redundant on a smartphone or tablet.
But the Internet has continued to evolve. Major brands such as Facebook, Netflix, and YouTube were already streaming videos to smartphones without Flash, and in November 2011 Adobe completed Flash development for mobile devices.
The company continued to produce Flash for desktop computers, but suffered from multiple security vulnerabilities.
In 2015, Apple automatically disabled Flash in its Safari web browser, and Google Chrome began blocking parts of Flash content.
In July 2017, Adobe announced that it would be shutting down Flash in 2020.
How do I remove Flash from my computer?
Adobe has provided instructions for removing Flash from Windows and Mac computers through its website.
She warned that “uninstalling Flash will help keep your system secure, as Adobe does not intend to release program updates or security patches after the end of its life date.”
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