Flash Will Be Removed from Windows 10 in July

The legacy format will also be removed from other Windows versions

By
Joshua Hawkins
Josh Hawkins
Joshua Hawkins
Freelance Technology Reporter
  • Full Sail University
Josh Hawkins is a freelance writer for Lifewire who loves writing about the latest tech and gadgets that help make people’s lives easier. As an avid gamer and VR enthusiast, he also enjoys diving deep into the technology that helps bring those kinds of experiences to life.
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Updated on May 4, 2021 02:56PM EDT
Fact checked by
Rich Scherr
Rich Scherr
Fact checked by Rich Scherr
  • University of Maryland Baltimore County
Rich Scherr is a seasoned technology and financial journalist who spent nearly two decades as the editor of Potomac and Bay Area Tech Wire.
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Once the chosen format for much of the internet’s online media content, Flash will be fully removed from Windows 10 with a new update in July.

The use of Flash has been declining for years now, according to The Verge. Major browsers like Safari and Google Chrome ditched the plugin near the end of last year. Microsoft even ended support within Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Edge Legacy, and Internet Explorer 11. Now, however, the company is also ending support for Flash in Windows 10. 

Adobe Flash Player logo

Adobe

Adobe, the creator of Flash, ended support for the format at the end of 2020, with the company going on to block Flash content from running in the player in January. Because Flash is no longer officially supported, Adobe recommends uninstalling it completely to avoid any possible security issues in the future.

Microsoft originally announced that support for Adobe Flash Player would end in December. However, an updated blog post has now revealed that Microsoft will start offering an update that removes Flash Player from Windows in preview versions of the OS starting in June.

Windows will officially cut support in the public version of Windows 10 when cumulative updates for Windows 10, versions 1607 and 1507 arrive. 

If you’re running Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2021, or Windows Embedded 8 Standard, then you’ll receive the special update through Windows’ monthly rollup and security-only updates. 

If you don’t feel like waiting for the impending update, you can already remove Flash from Windows by downloading update KB4577586 from Microsoft's Catalog.

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