Chrome 76: Flash block and making Flash use more annoying

Martin Brinkmann
May 6, 2019
Google Chrome
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Adobe Flash is going away in 2020; better, support for Adobe Flash ends in 2020. Adobe won't support Flash anymore, and all major browser makers revealed plans to retire Flash in their browsers.

While that means that most browsers won't support Flash content anymore and that there won't be any more updates for Flash, it does not really mean that all Flash content on the Internet is suddenly going away. A Flash Games Preservation project aims to archive Flash games and make them available in a dedicated application so that users may still play them.

Google targets Chrome 87 as the target release for Flash removal in the web browser. While there is still a good 18 month until that deadline, things are going to get more annoying soon in regards to Flash.

More annoying, because Google tightened the Flash use screws already in Chrome 69. The browser, released in August 2018, changed the Flash permissions system from a permanent state to a session-only state.

flash player will no longer be supported

Starting in Chrome 76, out July 2019, Flash is set to block by default. Chrome will still support Flash at this point, and it is even possible to switch the Flash setting to Ask First again, but that leads to a new problem for users who have set Flash to Ask First: Chrome displays a Flash deprecation warning on start if Ask First is set. The message states "Flash Player will no longer be supported after December 2020". The learn more link leads to the "Saying goodbye to Flash in Chrome" post from 2017.

The notification may display for a while or just flash for a brief moment. Considering that this is being tested in Chrome Canary currently, it seems likely that Google is still testing the new notification and system before it reaches the stable channel.

There is no option to disable the notification in Chrome (other than blocking Flash).

flash settings chrome

To summarize: starting with Chrome 76, Flash is blocked by default. Users may still enable Flash by loading chrome://settings/content/flash and setting the technology to Ask First.

Any site permission given during a session is not saved anymore if it is a Flash permission, and it is discarded when the browser is closed. You may run Flash content then in different ways, e.g. by clicking on the "click to play" area of the Flash element to display a "site wants to Run Flash" prompt which you need to allow, or by adding the site to the allow list for Flash (which Chrome will remove when you close the browser).

chrome flash site settings

The easiest method to do the latter is to click on the icon in front of the URL, select Site Settings, and set Flash to allow on the page that opens. Things get a bit easier on consecutive sessions as you find the Flash control attached to the initial prompt when you click on the icon in front of the URL.

Note: Some video download extensions may not work properly anymore in Chrome until you enable Flash.

Google is not the only company that is making Flash use more annoying. Mozilla disabled Flash in Firefox 69 by default for users who still have it installed on their systems. Firefox does not include a native Flash solution like Chrome.

Now You: do you (still) use Flash content? (via Techdows)

Summary
Chrome 76: Flash block and making Flash use more annoying
Article Name
Chrome 76: Flash block and making Flash use more annoying
Description
Starting in Chrome 76, scheduled for a July 2019 release, Flash is set to block by default. Users who enable Flash receive deprecation notifications.
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Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. Anonymous said on March 9, 2020 at 1:51 am
    Reply

    the solution is that I do not want the flash to go away or not be supported at the December, 2020

    but people enjoy the flash player for animations. but other people do not like it because it could get annoying at some time. so how come people don’t like the flash player?

  2. nirmal said on December 29, 2019 at 4:15 pm
    Reply

    i used to love interactive websites using flash… phones came with big screens and their tiny fan less chip couldn’t support flash so steve decided to end flash and there goes homeschooler’s interactive learning process.

  3. maximara said on December 16, 2019 at 7:25 pm
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    Gads, some of these comments are clueless in the extreme. Its not just Google (aka Chrome) that is wanting Flash to stand in the fire…after having a stake shoved through its heart but nearly everybody else as well. HTML5 has been around for 5 years now so why in the name of sanity keep writing stuff in Flash when the handwriting was on the wall?!?

  4. androidgamer said on December 12, 2019 at 2:23 am
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    @f00dl3 well said, google just wants to fuck the internet, it wants to take the gem away from us. they should know the danger that an browser has, and taking away any shit from it wont upgrade nothing in their crappy browser. also i use opera, just so you know why i called chrome crappy

  5. Anonymous said on December 10, 2019 at 1:48 pm
    Reply

    rip childhood memory games

  6. Alan McSeveny said on December 1, 2019 at 3:03 am
    Reply

    Flash is the basis of the Maths Builder mathematics learning internet program. We stand to lose the best maths learning tool in Australia at the end of 2020.

  7. Jim C Suber said on November 28, 2019 at 12:23 am
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    If Chrome is allowed by silent, dumb, acquiescence to get away with this, future high-handed problems will occur. I guess maybe flash is doomed by natural attrition, but this browser resides on MY computer. I’d like to make the choice to shut down or not shut down support as I see fit.

  8. Chris Mathis said on October 25, 2019 at 4:20 am
    Reply
  9. Chris Mathis said on October 25, 2019 at 4:19 am
    Reply

    Well, there is one way of doing this, signing a petition.

  10. The Free Boba said on October 23, 2019 at 1:09 pm
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    Just another way for the elites to maintain control over the internet…you’ll notice that FLASH powers a lot of the types of websites that rub against their politically correct brain tumor…fear not….fear is their weapon of submission….good revolutionaries and independents never fear oppression and will find a viable workaround, which will likely be something open source, and will get everybody stampeding away from the GOOGLE MICROSOFT ANTICHRIST BEAST MONSTER!

  11. Anonymous said on October 19, 2019 at 4:16 pm
    Reply

    I HAVE LOST MY FLASH AND HOW DO I GET IT BACK

  12. FLASH PLAYER IS NOT DEAD YET said on September 30, 2019 at 3:27 am
    Reply

    I HAVE A SOLUTION THAT CAN KEEP FLASH ON AFTER 2020.

  13. Anonymous said on August 29, 2019 at 7:21 pm
    Reply
  14. Anonymous said on August 21, 2019 at 12:41 am
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    Chrome blows for not allowing us to disable that annoying AF message about flash (without turning it off first).
    I want it on as my online cable company still requires the use of flash…

  15. JP said on August 20, 2019 at 4:07 am
    Reply

    The National Weather Service radar loops use flash. This has become a real pain-in-the-ass trying to access the weather radar!

    1. f00dl3 said on September 30, 2019 at 11:40 am
      Reply

      Many websites still use flash in the weather industry. It’s really annoying Google is doing this crap because it doesn’t make the web more secure, it just makes people who don’t know true security think flash makes their computer less secure. It really doesn’t. JavaScript can be just as dangerous with the eval statement.

      1. androidgamer said on December 12, 2019 at 2:22 am
        Reply

        @f00dl3 well said, google just wants to fuck the internet, it wants to take the gem away from us. they should know the danger that an browser has, and taking away any shit from it wont upgrade nothing in their crappy browser. also i use opera, just so you know why i called chrome crappy

  16. Pat said on August 16, 2019 at 10:15 pm
    Reply

    Hey @VMware, finish the HTML5 work for vCenter access.

    1. Megan said on October 11, 2019 at 4:30 pm
      Reply

      Seriously! This is getting insane. I can’t manage thru HTML5 for about half of what I do and we get the double-type problem in Firefox, so whenever Chrome decides flash is completely disabled, we’re at their mercy. While I’ve come to realize setting always allow for the site causes the issue for sure, it will also just happen for no reason when I am prompted, it just never loads the plugin. We get a screen with the puzzle piece that says right click to run flash, but running it that way does absolutely nothing, the page doesn’t even reload. I don’t know where else I can force it to “double-check” that it hasn’t kept flash disabled on the page. We’re on the most recent version.

  17. Kya said on August 13, 2019 at 12:04 am
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    I believe it’s going to be earlier than everyone expects, because when I first bring up Chrome, it says sometime in December, that gives the impression it’ll be this year

    1. austin said on September 22, 2019 at 12:36 am
      Reply

      December of 2020 read it

  18. Blue said on August 12, 2019 at 10:48 pm
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    I just started playing Webkinz again because I got nostalgic- seeing all the rooms and stuff I made when I was 8 is so much fun. But Webkinz uses Flash. As do almost all of children’s games. I don’t get the point of getting rid of it.

  19. Foysal said on August 11, 2019 at 4:04 pm
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    If the Flash remove or no longer available after 2020, what will happen browser games?
    Without flash player can we play the game or cant?

    1. androidgamer said on December 12, 2019 at 2:19 am
      Reply

      you cant as every single browser is kicking flash off

  20. Ron Grainger said on August 11, 2019 at 3:30 pm
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    Angry Birds Friends is a great PC version of the classic game available through Facebook. I always have to allow Flash for it to play but then it runs fine. What is going to happen to that when Flash is discontinued?

    1. androidgamer said on December 12, 2019 at 2:18 am
      Reply

      dig angry birds friends’ tombstone cause hes going to die with flash

  21. Ravi said on June 15, 2019 at 5:20 pm
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    Please tell me why is this adobe flash going away??? why????

    1. androidgamer said on December 12, 2019 at 2:16 am
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      hacker attacks are being easier to do since flash has many errors that allow hackers to steal information from the targeted user, through IP. good luck on a replacement lol

  22. Brandon said on May 21, 2019 at 7:51 pm
    Reply

    There are a lot sites that still use flash. There are games, people’s animations. How are we supposed to run these now??

    FireFox stopped showing flash weeks ago. I want it back. Solutions??

    Thank you.

    1. xu said on December 22, 2019 at 5:54 am
      Reply

      Waterfox is only answer on what crap firefox became last years. Happy Waterfox user here, and it does not crash anymore, maybe 1 crash per 3 days not per 3hours like firefox (24/7 opened 3-4 windows with alltogether 600 opened panels in count)

    2. androidgamer said on December 12, 2019 at 2:15 am
      Reply

      say goodbye to flash, mozilla already ended flash at firefox

  23. Drago said on May 21, 2019 at 8:13 am
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    This freaking sucks. No one talks about how something like Club Penguin (which we have SWFs for) can be converted from Flash to HTML5. People love to mention Project Shumway but then forget that Firefox only supports WebExtensions now. People love to crap on Flash but forget its cultural significance.

    By the way, Club Penguin Rewritten (not actually rewritten fyi) is crazy popular. Disney missed out on money there.

    I got a bit sidetracked there. Anyway, this sucks because it’s taking away user options. Our options to allow Flash are already erased. Doing this makes things so much harder.

  24. jern said on May 6, 2019 at 8:52 pm
    Reply

    Apple dumped Flash in 2010. Can’t say I’ve missed it on my Macs.

    1. Anonee said on May 7, 2019 at 9:34 am
      Reply

      Agreed.
      Apple (well, Steve Jobs) writing that letter a decade ago about how trash Flash Player is and that everyone should use HTML5 instead, was the perfect move.
      I always loved that Apple refused to add Flash crap to iOS while android users at the time were like “oh yeah, well at least aNdRoId CaN rUn FlAsH” 🙄

      1. [email protected] said on January 3, 2020 at 3:30 pm
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        Honestly you are missing out on flash. It the best thing that happened to my school. Think twice on what you say

      2. Anonymous said on August 7, 2019 at 3:07 am
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        @anonee still waiting for the punchline… oh wait, you were serious… Apple is ages behind windows in both terms of performance AND pricing, you’re essentially paying the cost of a porsche carrera for a 90’s camry that some poor bastard left at the junkyard. Have fun with Trashle, nobody with half a brain uses that security risk nightmare.

      3. Lambo-San said on May 7, 2019 at 4:19 pm
        Reply

        @Anonee,

        Android is still superior OS compared to iOS. iOS feels like being a prisoner in Alcatraz – you aren’t allowed to do shit. With Android you can do whatever you want.

        I can show you powerful 3rd party apps, that aren’t even allowed on the Google Play Store (because they are TOO POWERFUL… no one should have that much power) and Google doesn’t want them there. Apps that allow you to do things with your Android device that an iOS user never dreamt of in their wildest dreams and will drop jaws when they see it in action.

      4. royboy said on November 5, 2019 at 5:50 am
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        I’m an IOS/MACBOOK user. I would like to know what is so powerful in android since you were talking about it.

      5. androidgamer said on December 12, 2019 at 2:12 am
        Reply

        welp, take an example: lucky patcher. this can just fool apps that have paid shit and you can get this paid shit for free, sometimes lucky patcher fails if you are non rooted, but if you have root you easily fuck the license and things like that from the app. but remember, a weak user cant handle so much power, i already lost progress from games by using lucky patcher. i could do a list for hours and hours but imma too tired to do an fucking entire list of powerful apps.

        -some boi called androidgamer

      6. androidgamer said on December 12, 2019 at 2:14 am
        Reply

        and before i forget that reply is for royboy, also i probaly wont be answering anyone

        -that same boi called androidgamer

  25. Flashroadmap said on May 6, 2019 at 8:47 pm
    Reply

    Here’s the flash roadmap to death — https://www.chromium.org/flash-roadmap#TOC-Upcoming-Changes

    please use that next time, Martin.

  26. Richard Allen said on May 6, 2019 at 7:44 pm
    Reply

    Well, I don’t know what everyone else is seeing but “Ask First” quit working for me in Stable back around the end of last year, Dec/Jan maybe. Both Dev and Stable have had flash set to “Ask First” for some time.

    “Things get a bit easier on consecutive sessions as you find the Flash control attached to the initial prompt when you click on the icon in front of the URL.”
    That works for me in Chrome Dev but not in Stable. Used to be that when you clicked on the Site Info button the Flash permission was front and center along with the others but now I have to click on Site Settings to be able to access and toggle the flash permission, in Chrome Stable. Which is pretty darn silly because I can’t imagine anyone opening the Site Info popup and toggling the permission… accidentally. The only thing I use flash for is to play Bloons TD 4 and both releases are saving the appropriate cookies.

    As far as flash being used in FF or my other browsers goes, I haven’t installed flash since early last year.

    1. Richard Allen said on May 6, 2019 at 7:54 pm
      Reply

      Actually “Ask First” quit working in both Dev and Stable about the same time. I’m thinking both needed clean installs towards the end of the year so I don’t know what the malfunction is. Fact is it seems Dev needs a clean install about once a year, for bad updates usually. It’s been a long time since I’ve had to do a clean install of Nightly, since the release of v57. Just saying.

      1. Anonymous said on November 28, 2019 at 12:22 am
        Reply

        If Chrome is allowed by silent, dumb, acquiescence to get away with this, future high-handed problems will occur. I guess maybe flash is doomed by natural attrition, but this browser resides on MY computer. I’d like to make the choice to shut down or not shut down support as I see fit.

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