Flash to be retired from both versions of Microsoft Edge by end of 2020

By Dan Thorp-Lancaster
published

Microsoft's Flash retirement plans were already know for the old version of Edge, but the company clarified its timeline for the new Chromium-based Edge.

Microsoft Edge logo in Windows search
Microsoft Edge logo in Windows search (Image credit: Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • Microsoft plans to retire Flash in all versions of Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer by the end of 2020.
  • This timeline was already known for the original version of Edge, but Microsoft clarified its plans for Flash in the newer Chromium version of Edge.
  • The Flash removal plan for Chromium Edge follows the same timeline for other browsers built on Chromium.

Microsoft reiterated its plans for retiring Flash across all of its browsers today, notably clarifying its intentions for the new version of Edge built on Chromium. Microsoft will remove Flash from Internet Explorer, the original Edge, and the new Chromium Edge by the end of 2020.

From Microsoft:

Flash will initially be disabled, and the user will need to re-enable Flash on a site-by-site basis; Flash will be completely removed from the browser towards the end of 2020. Group policies are available for enterprise admins and IT pros to change the Flash behavior prior to that date.

Most of these plans were already known, as Microsoft, Google, Apple, and Mozilla all came out with their own timelines for retiring Flash after Adobe announced Flash would be killed off in 2020.

Currently, Microsoft's browsers require you to enable Flash with explicit permission on a per-site basis. Look for Flash to be fully removed from Internet Explorer and both versions of Edge by December of 2020.

Dan Thorp-Lancaster
Dan Thorp-Lancaster

Dan Thorp-Lancaster is the former Editor-in-Chief of Windows Central. He began working with Windows Central, Android Central, and iMore as a news writer in 2014 and is obsessed with tech of all sorts. You can follow Dan on Twitter @DthorpL and Instagram @heyitsdtl. 

7 Comments
  • Excellent. Now if we can just get rid of JAVA. I'm so sick of Java being NOTHING but a pain in the rear with all the web systems we use. It's garbage.
  • We can only dream! JRE is a huge pain to manage in a large environment. The worst are those little dev shops that sell the end-all-be-all-application that customers want and they hard coded for an old, exploit laden version of JRE.
  • Doesn't take a small dev shop. General Motors default fallback for compatibility is 8u45 for their service technician software. That's about a 2 year old version now, on internet connected systems.
  • Java belongs in the App Store instead of webpages...
  • Good riddance to all flash websites....
  • About damn time lol.
  • Simply amazing how many websites still use the crap. Comcast still using it for their streaming service, cant wait to force them to change it.