Mozilla’s Firefox to begin blocking Adobe Flash in 2017

Mozilla’s Firefox is joining the conga line of companies ditching Adobe Flash.

Beginning in 2017, Firefox users will be offered an option to activate a Flash-enabled video, meaning the buggy software will no longer load automatically. Mozilla blamed Flash’s swath of “stability, performance, and security issues” for the change.

Prior to the click-to-activate option rolling out to all users, Mozilla will block certain Flash content that is “not essential to the user experience,” such Flash-enabled ads and videos. “These and future changes will bring Firefox users enhanced security, improved battery life, faster page load, and better browser responsiveness,” the company said.

Adobe Flash has long been denounced by users for its weak security and performance problems, so developers are gravitating to the more stable HTML5. With the recent news that other popular browsers, such as Google’s Chrome and Apple’s Safari, banishing Flash, its time is soon officially coming to an end.

More in Media

Why Amazon and YouTube pitched operating systems, not just TV inventory at this year’s upfront

Negotiations over identity, infrastructure, AI-driven buying take place as much as programing.

The Economist prepares for a two‑track internet: one for humans and one for AI agents

The Economist is testing agent-readable versions of content that already sits outside its paywall, as it prepares for “two versions of the web.”

The case for and against clipping

Clipping is the creator growth hack of the year, but there are strong arguments for and against the practice. We break them down.