Windows 10 Update: Microsoft Removes Flash Player As Adobe Ends Development and Support

CJ Robles, Tech Times 28 October 2020, 06:10 am

Back in September, Microsoft announced that it will release an update to remove Adobe Flash Player in the fall. On October 28, the tech giant has been true to its words as it launched an optional Catalog update to delete Flash from Windows 10 while preventing it to be reinstalled on the same device.

According to a report by Engadget, the recent update called KB4577586 removes the Flash version that is bundled with Windows 10. It does not cover the standalone Flash versions bought by users as well as those installed from Microsoft Edge and other browsers.

Windows 10 update: Microsoft removes Flash Player

Based on the timeline released by Microsoft in September, the Flash removal tool will be optional in Windows Update in early 2021 before it becomes a recommended update after a few months. By the summer of 2021, Flash-related developer frameworks, user interfaces, and group policies will be removed across multiple Windows versions and even in legacy Edge and IE11 through cumulative updates.

This decision follows the upcoming end of Windows 10 Flash support in 2020 while Internet Explorer 11 and the legacy Edge version will be no longer have further updates by December. Meanwhile, in January 2021, Edge's latest version that uses Google's Chrome software will also lose its support for Flash.

Microsoft noted in a statement that this optional catalog update is released before the end of support to aid customers test their environments and confirm any impact, which "might occur by the removal of Adobe Flash Player."

These updates pave the way for the eventual death of Flash player in 2021.

Google Chrome also ends Flash support

Back in 2017, Adobe declared its plans to drop its support for Flash by end of 2020. In 2019, Google also announced it would end its support for Flash in Chrome since the app will end by December 2020.

In a blog post, Google's engineering manager Dong-Hwi Lee bid goodbye to Flash exactly a year ago on October 28, 2019. He said the app has been disabled already by default since Chrome version 76, Firefox 69, and Microsoft Edge. Lee also noted that Google Search has already stopped indexing Flash.

Adobe reported that the Adobe Flash Player runtime, which allows users to access over 1 billion desktops across different operating systems and browsers without other software needed. It has also been installed 500 million times in the second half of 2013. More than 3 million developers also use Flash technology in creating interactive and animated online content.

"Flash, you inspired the web," said Lee adding that the web already has standards such as HTML5, which would continue its legacy.

Adobe has already stopped developing Flash as it now focus on creating new web technologies and standards, particularly with HTML5. Adobe will also end its support for Flash on December 31.

Reinstalling Flash

For users who need to use Adobe Flash Player after receiving the update on their device, they may reset their device to an earlier system, which would explicitly enable the app. A system restores point should be created on the Windows device before applying the recent update. Also, they may reinstall the Windows operating system without applying the update.

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Written by CJ Robles