Advertisement

Microsoft's Edge browser is clamping down on Flash, too

Somebody should start playing 'Taps.'

"Adobe Flash isn't responding." It's the message you can feel coming as soon as your browser grinds to a halt and you abandon all hope of salvaging what you were working on. Well, if you're a developer that's part of the Windows Insider program and have grabbed Windows 10 build 14316, you're living in a future where the aforementioned nightmare scenario sounds less likely. Microsoft is changing how its Edge browser handles Flash elements by disabling all but those that it says are central to the page you're viewing, like games or Flash-based video.

Specifically, a post on the Edge developer's blog calls out that ads and animations using the aging browser plugin will be click-to-play from here on out. Microsoft's John Hazen says that this will decrease power consumption and boost performance with Edge, like it similarly has on Chrome and Safari before it. Furthermore, Hazen promises that in time Edge will offer additional user control over Flash that's the main part of a web page, as well.

However, you'll have to wait a bit before this goes mainstream. The new Flash rules won't be out for the masses until the Windows 10 Anniversary update releases this summer.