Adobe Flash is nothing more than a nostalgic feature to help you watch cool animated videos back in the day. And soon, it will only be a thing of the past—if you haven’t already forgotten about it.
While we have written about ways to help you uninstall Flash (recommended by Adobe), there’s now a new Windows 10 update from Microsoft that permanently removes Flash from the operating system. However, the update is for Windows 10 version 1903 and earlier, and several versions of Windows Server.
The same patch will then roll out over Windows Update over the next month or so. It will be available via the Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) sometime in early 2021.
Like a lot of other software updates, the choice to remove Adobe Flash will be optional. But then, it will be moved to the “recommended updates” a few months later.
According to Microsoft, after the update has been applied, the update cannot be uninstalled. The company also said that if you’ve installed Adobe Flash Player manually from another source, it won’t be removed.
If you absolutely must re-install Flash again, you’ll need to reset your device to an earlier system restore point. So, make sure to make one before you apply the Flash-removal update if you foresee the need for it.
“We are releasing this removal update in advance of end of support to help customers test and validate their environments for any impact that might occur by the removal of Adobe Flash Player. Also, if another security update for Adobe Flash Player is released, customers who take this removal update will still be offered the security update,” continued Microsoft.
There are now bigger and better platforms than Adobe Flash like HTML5, OpenFL, and Unity. And the majority of what you come across on a website today isn’t powered by Flash anymore but HTML5. Adobe even re-branded Flash as Adobe Animate in 2015 to expand support for HTML5.
However, if you’re afraid that this will be the end of Flash classics like “Badger, Badger, Badger”—fret not, as they’re still viewable from the Internet Archive. They’re also well preserved on YouTube, and animators like David Firth has even kept his animated classic on the video streaming platform.
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