December 31, 2020
Adobe Flash Player discontinued
Adobe ended FlashAdobe Flash — a browser plugin for animations and video — deprecated as the web moved to HTML5. Player distribution and updates on December 31, 2020 — ending ActionScript's run as a browser programming platform.
What it was for
FlashAdobe Flash — a browser plugin for animations and video — deprecated as the web moved to HTML5. Player had powered browser games, video players, and interactive ads for two decades. After this date Adobe stopped security patches and blocked FlashAdobe Flash — a browser plugin for animations and video — deprecated as the web moved to HTML5. content from running in the plugin (January 12, 2021). Developers who had built on ActionScript migrated to HTML5The fifth major HTML revision — native audio, video, canvas, and APIs without browser plugins. canvas, WebGL, and JavaScript — or lost access to legacy `.swf` content entirely.
Companies
- Adobe
Why it's here
FlashAdobe Flash — a browser plugin for animations and video — deprecated as the web moved to HTML5. Player's shutdown closed the ActionScript era and marked HTML5The fifth major HTML revision — native audio, video, canvas, and APIs without browser plugins.'s victory for in-browser media.
Why it mattered
It broke millions of legacy games, training modules, and corporate sites that still depended on the plugin.
What it solved
FlashAdobe Flash — a browser plugin for animations and video — deprecated as the web moved to HTML5.'s security record and plugin model no longer fit a web platform moving to open standardA specification anyone can implement without proprietary restrictions — encourages interoperability and competition.s.
Media
- ImageAdobe Flash
Adobe, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Related
- ActionScript 1.0 debuts with Flash 5August 24, 2000
- Flash 4 ships with a real scripting languageJune 15, 1999