Mozilla Firefox to block Adobe Flash plugins from August

Mozilla Firefox browser has decided to step away from Adobe Flash plugin by blocking "certain Flash content that is not essential to the user experience" from August and then keeping it off by default starting 2017.

Adobe Flash has been running out of favor from major browsers for quite some time now, as HTML5 has made the web plugin redundant and dated. Although Mozilla will continue to support legacy flash content after August, it will require “click-to-activate approval” starting 2017, before a website activates Flash plugin for any content.

Mozilla, however, acknowledged the role of Flash in providing video and interactive content on Web but said that it often introduces stability, performance, and security issues for browsers and therefore it becomes a necessity to introduce these changes.

The changes will lead to enhanced security, improved battery life, faster page load, and better browser responsiveness for the users, the company said in a note. It even claimed that blocking certain Flash content will result in reductions in hangs and crashes by up to 10 percent.

The browser company has also advised web sites that currently use Flash or Silverlight for video or games to plan on adopting HTML technologies as soon as possible. But Mozilla vows to continue working with Adobe to improve the Flash experience, whenever the plugin will be enabled on its browser.