Adobe’s Flash Swansong: Demise Anticipated by 2020

Adobe has declared its intent to conclude official support for its erstwhile platform, Flash, by 2020 – a decision engendered by a significant dip in usage. This decline is starkly illustrated by the fact that now only 17% of Chrome users visit a Flash-enabled website daily compared to 80% in 2014.

At its peak, Flash was virtually ubiquitous on the internet, used extensively for streaming video clips and hosting online games. Yet, this monumental popularity did not immunize it from the criticisms of major tech companies, whose backlash against Flash’s inherent weaknesses ultimately led to its downfall. Notoriously, Apple was the first tech giant to sound the alarm bell ringing.

The late Steve Jobs, of Apple, censured Flash for its inefficient design for touchscreen devices and its substantial security holes. Specifically, he cited Flash’s poor design as a significant deterrent for the company’s supportive relationship with the technology. Moreover, Jobs attributed crashes on Apple’s Mac computers to Flash’s glaring security vulnerabilities.

Flash’s soaring popularity became a double-edged sword. As it gained momentum, the platform also came under fire for its ‘security vulnerability’, an Achilles heel of sorts, which allowed unscrupulous elements to exploit it and hack into people’s computers. Consequently, tech heavyweights such as Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Mozilla responded by steadily distancing themselves from Flash. An avalanche of tech headlines crying foul about Flash’s security vulnerability was indeed the final nail in the coffin.

In lieu of Flash, emerging technologies like HTML5 coding language rose to prominence. This technology was quickly adopted for displaying video and providing interactive gaming experiences. Tech behemoths Google and Microsoft showed their preference of HTML5 by integrating it within their respective web browsers.

Govind Balakrishnan, Adobe’s Vice President of Product Development for its Creative Cloud business, announced that Adobe would collaborate with major tech companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft to phase out Flash gradually. He touted alternative technologies like HTML5, WebGL, and WebAssembly as potential successors, capable of performing similar operations as Flash. He assured though, that Flash would still receive security updates until its intended phase-out in 2020.

The prolonged phase-out timeline aims to create a smooth transition for users by allowing them to move naturally onto a Flash alternative, driven by Adobe’s sentiment of not wanting to leave its users high and dry.