Flash has been dying a slow death for some time, and now it seems Apple is looking to speed up its demise.
The company will block the Flash plugin by default on Safari 10, which will come bundled with the new macOS Sierra later this year.
The outdated plugin will be replaced by HTML5 technology, which is rapidly becoming the standard for most websites.
In a blog post on webkit.org, Safari software engineer Ricky Modello said: “When Safari 10 ships this fall, by default, Safari will behave as though common legacy plug-ins on users’ Macs are not installed.”
That means if you’ve already got Flash installed, Safari 10 will simply ignore the plugin.
Related: macOS Sierra – 7 new Mac features Apple unveiled at WWDC 2016
Modello adds: “On websites that offer both Flash and HTML5 implementations of content, Safari users will now always experience the modern HTML5 implementation.”
For many years, Flash was the standard way of encoding media and running games in web browsers.
But since its implementation, it has drawn criticism for its lack of adequate security and the fact that it drains battery life incredibly quickly when used on a mobile device.
Apple has previously banned Flash from its iOS mobile operating system and other companies have followed suit, with both Google and Microsoft urging developers to switch to HTML5.
Google’s Chrome Browser will also start blocking Flash by default later this year.
The blocking of Flash in Safari 10 is hardly surprising therefore, and
For those websites which are yet to ditch the outdated plugin, Safari 10 will ask users to confirm they want to run Flash in order to see the content.
macOS Sierra was announced at this week’s WWDC 2016 event in San Francisco, and is the latest version of Apple’s desktop operating system, previously known as OS X.
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Are you happy to see Apple put another nail in Flash’s coffin? Let us know in the comments.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.