How to Find Your Flash Version

Do you know what version of Flash you have installed? Do you know what the latest version of Flash is, so you can make sure you're running the latest and greatest? Do you know why either question is important?

Adobe Flash, sometimes still called Shockwave Flash or Macromedia Flash, is a platform that many websites choose to use to play video. On your end, your browser, like Chrome, Firefox, or IE, needs to have something called a plug-in so you can play those videos.

So, when you ask "what version of Flash do I have?" what you're really asking is "what version of the Flash plug-in for my browser do I have installed?"

Knowing what version number of the Flash plug-in you have installed on your browser is important if you're troubleshooting an issue with videos playing, or are having some other problem with your browser.

The easiest way to tell what version of Flash you have installed in the browser in question, assuming Flash and your browser is working, is to visit the Flash Player Help page on Adobe's website. Once there, select Check Now.

In the YOUR SYSTEM INFORMATION section that appears, you'll see the Flash version that's running, as well as the name of the browser you're using and your operating system version.

If Adobe's automatic check doesn't work, you can usually right-click any Flash video and look for the Flash version number at the end of the pop-up box. It will look something like About Adobe Flash Player x.x.x.x.

If Flash videos aren't working at all, you get some kind of Flash related error message, or you can't even use your browser, see "How to Manually check the Flash Version for a Browser" below for more help.

See the Adobe Flash Player page for the latest version of Flash for every supported browser on every supported operating system. This page is another place you can visit to see which Adobe Flash version is installed.

Updating to the latest version of Flash can be done from the Adobe Flash Player Download center on Adobe's site.

Another option is a software updater. These are programs that you install for the purpose of keeping your other software updated, and many of them support Flash. See our list of free software updater programs for some of our favorites.

Adobe's Check Now button is great, but if you're dealing with a major problem with Flash or your browser, which is a big reason why you'd want to know what version of Flash you have in the first place, it will probably do you no good.

Here's how to manually check the version of Flash running in each of these browsers:

If Chrome will start, type chrome://components in the address bar and look for Adobe Flash Player in the list. The Flash version number is shown right next to that entry.

If Chrome won't open normally, search your computer for pepflashplayer.dll and note the most recent version number of that file that's found. The file should be in a folder named the version number.

If Firefox starts, type about:plugins in the address bar and look for Shockwave Flash in the list. The version number of Flash is shown after Version:. If Firefox won't start, search your computer for NPSWF32 or NPSWF64. A number of files may be found, but take note of the version number of the file that has several underscores.

Select the gear button in Internet Explorer to open the menu, followed by Manage add-ons. Choose Shockwave Flash Object and then note the Flash version number at the bottom of the screen.

Open Control Panel and go to Programs > Programs and Features. Select once on Adobe Flash Player and note the number next to Product version at the bottom of Control Panel, or under the Version column off to the right.

From the Safari menu, select Preferences. Go to the Websites tab and locate the Plug-ins section. Under Adobe Flash Player is the Flash version number.

If you're using Mac OS X 10.10 or older, go to Safari > Preferences > Security and then choose Plug-in Settings or Manage Website Settings to see the Flash version.

The various major browsers in use today all work with Flash in different ways, making it a little difficult to stay updated if you use multiple browsers.

Google Chrome keeps Flash updated automatically, so assuming Chrome is working properly and updating automatically, so will Adobe Flash.

Mozilla Firefox doesn't keep Flash updated as Firefox updates, so you'll need to update Flash when prompted on your computer or download and install the latest versions as they become available.

Edge & Internet Explorer (IE) in Windows 10 and Windows 8 will keep Flash updated via Windows Update. See How Do I Install Windows Updates? if you need help with that. In versions of Windows older than Windows 10 & 8, however, Flash will need to be updated in IE via Adobe's Flash download center, just like with Firefox.

Safari doesn't keep Flash updated. You update Flash on a Mac when there's a prompt for a Flash update, or by downloading and installing Flash Player manually. So, updating Safari doesn't update Flash.

Other browsers not listed usually follow the same rules we outlined for Mozilla Firefox.