Save 50% on a 3-month Digiday+ membership. Ends Dec 5.
If we needed more evidence that Flash is living out its final moments, this might be it.
Google announced yesterday it will stop Flash video ads from displaying in its popular Chrome browser starting Sept. 1. It’s a major blow for the beleaguered Adobe-created technology because Chrome is the world’s most popular browser, controlling 63 percent of the market.
The decision to halt Flash ads was made in June in beta, but will roll out to all users next month as a way to “improve performance for users.” Embedded videos that are powered Flash will still be loaded and Flash-based ads can still be seen if the user right-clicks on the “Run this plugin” option.
There’s been a deafening chorus of calls from various Web companies to stomp out Flash. Firefox said in July it will stop serving Flash ads and Amazon announced that also on Sept. 1, it will no longer allow Flash ads on Amazon.com or on the Amazon Advertising Platform.
The reason for the flood of anti-Flash sentiment stems from the “software’s myriad insecurities due to old code that hackers can exploit across Adobe products,” as Digiday previously reported. That vulnerability was exposed a few weeks ago when hackers injected malware in Yahoo’s Flash-powered ad network, leaving millions of Windows users exposed.
Adobe has not returned Digiday’s request for comment.
More in Marketing
The case for and against AI-driven SEO in the zero-click era
As generative AI reshapes search, marketers debate the value of committing (or overcommitting) to an AI SEO strategy.
Hiring program in energy tech sector enlists military veterans to fill data center skills gap
Data center demand is projected to grow 33% annually by 2030, while the industry struggles to find qualified candidates for increasingly complex systems.
‘Regulate us like alcohol, don’t ban us’: Proposed hemp THC ban threatens to shut down countless brands
The proposed ban on THC-infused products was included in the bill Congress passed to end the government shutdown.