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Mozilla to Start Blocking Flash Content in Firefox From August

Mozilla to Start Blocking Flash Content in Firefox From August

By Shekhar Thakran | Updated: 21 July 2016 11:56 IST

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Highlights

Firefox will start limiting flash content from August
Mozilla says browser will keep Flash off by default starting 2017
Mozilla says new steps taken to enhance security and reduce crashes

Adobe Flash has been running out of favour from major browsers for quite some time now. HTML5 has made the Web plugin look redundant and dated. The latest step taken in the direction of discontinuation is by Mozilla Firefox, which has decided to step away from the plugin by blocking "certain Flash content that is not essential to the user experience" from August and then keeping it off by default starting 2017.

Mozilla has said in a blog post that although the browser will continue to support legacy flash content after August, starting 2017, it will require "click-to-activate approval" before a website activates Flash plugin for any content.

(Also see: Google Details Plans to Start Blocking Flash in Chrome This Year)

In its note, Mozilla acknowledged the role of Flash in providing video and interactive content on Web but said that it often introduces stability, performance, and security issues for browsers and therefore it becomes a necessity to introduce these changes.

It added that these changes will result in enhanced security, improved battery life, faster page load, and better browser responsiveness for the users. It even claimed that blocking certain Flash content will result in reductions in hangs and crashes by up to 10 percent.

The browser company also advised websites that currently use Flash or Silverlight for video or games to plan on adopting HTML technologies as soon as possible. Mozilla has said that it will, however, continue to work with Adobe to improve the Flash experience, whenever the plugin will be enabled on its browser.

This is not the first step Mozilla has taken towards reducing usage of Flash in its browser. Back in July last year, following a major vulnerability being found in Flash, blocked all versions of the Web plugin by default.

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Further reading: Adobe Flash, Browser Plugins, Mozilla, Mozilla Firefox