Microsoft Edge will block Flash content by default

Microsoft announced some hours ago that upcoming versions of the company's Windows 10 web browser Edge will block Flash content by default.

Flash is on its way out, and the next step in the process is the automatic blocking of Flash elements on websites.

Google announced recently that it will prioritize HTML5 over Flash, and block Flash by default in the Chrome browser. The company plans to roll out the feature gradually until it is in full swing in October 2017.

Mozilla plans to drop NPAPI plugin support on April 18. 2017 when Firefox 53 is released. While Firefox will still support Flash at this point in time, it is set to click to play already in the browser.

And now it is Microsoft that will set Adobe Flash to click to play in Microsoft Edge in the near future.

Starting with the Anniversary Update of windows 10, Edge did pause certain Flash content on websites already that are not central to the content. This included among other things advertisement, trackers, and other Flash content.

HTML5 content will be favored in Edge, and if a site supports it, Flash content won't even be loaded in the browser.

This improves security, performance, and battery life according to Microsoft.

Tip: Speed up Microsoft Edge by disabling Flash

Flash will be blocked by default on all sites that require Flash for some or all of the content. Microsoft Edge users may click on the Flash element that they want to load to start the activation process.

This launches a prompt stating that "Adobe Flash content was blocked". Users have the option to allow it to run once, or always from that moment in time on.

The latter is useful if the site is visited regularly, and if Flash content is an integral part of the site.

Microsoft, just like Google, will make exceptions for the most popular sites on today's Internet. The company has not revealed the scope of the whitelist, nor any site that is on that list.

It plans to shorten the list as time passes by though, and drop it completely eventually.

The blog post over on the Microsoft Edge Developer blog does not reveal when the change becomes available. Microsoft Edge Dev's Twitter account however reveals that it will be part of EdgeHTML15.

EdgeHTML15 is the current version of the browser. Windows Insider builds will receive the update soon according to Microsoft, and the full release is to be expected to be included in next year's Windows 10 Creators Update.

Now You: Do you rely on sites that require Flash?