Adobe to begin blocking new installs of Flash tomorrow

By Chris Parsons  | Aug 14 2012 | 3:43 pm  | 56 Comments

Adobe Flash

Tomorrow, Adobe will flip the switch in the Google Play Store and start blocking new installs of Adobe Flash on Android. After that, the sky will begin to fall and peoples devices will stop working. OK, not really. But Adobe will indeed be blocking new installs and only those who have it installed currently will be able to get updates and security fixes. This isn't a surprise considering back in November Adobe announced they'd no longer be supporting the mobile Flash player but it is a reminder that if you're running a device that supports Flash and you want to keep it that way, get it installed.

Chris Parsons Writer

"Born and raised in Nova Scotia, Canada. Chris is fluent in all mobile languages and loves anything with a power button."

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There are 56 comments. Add yours.

cguella says:

Get everyone hooked on their crappy software and then abandon it.

OLD_HATCH says:

How will this affect those of us who switch between roms?

coraphise says:

Better back up the APK so you can install after you switch would be my guess.

Kaptain75329 says:

Exactly. This is pretty much Adobe pulling Flash from the Market -- err.. Google Play.. for all intents and purposes.

codiusprime says:

That has nothing to do with Flash.

Though I imagine if you have a version of flash backed up you'll be fine, I also imagine you'll be able to find an APK of it somewhere on XDA if it isn't already there.

Edit: I better understand the question, not sure if you will be able to sideload it or not but I would imagine you will be able to.

trm96 says:

Why would you not be able to sideload it?

qwick says:

You can, and even in Jelly Bean it sideloads just fine. Just get the correct APK/Version for your Android version.

randyw says:

Its been on XDA ever since JB was anounced. Running JB 4.1.1 on my Nexus with flash running fine. Just install the APK in the normal way.

kennonk says:

Titanium backup is your friend.

coraphise says:

What's even out there (for Android) that uses Flash?

icebike says:

You mean other than Android Central's Ads?

I'm constantly amazed how this site cheers the death rattle of Flash, while pocketing the money the flash ads bring in. Hey Phil: You First!

MrJedi says:

Non-mobile versions of pr0n sites come to mind... Otherwise, there are still plenty of news media organizations that still only serve flash video on their site. It is really annoying to click a link on Twitter to a news website that doesn't have a mobile friendly version and hasn't transcribed the video dialogue. A lot of local network affiliate stations do this. Annoying as hell if they you don't have flash installed, and you actually want to know more about the story. Otherwise, you just get a lot more crap.

This was one of the things the Kindle Fire browser did right. You had to click Flash objects for them to run. By default you get the plugin required image.

betsuni says:

You can try out Firefox Beta which also does the same thing for flash content.

Shadowriver says:

Until you use Flash, they will still do it... let them switch to HTML5

msgnyc says:

The internet... ;)

codiusprime says:

I never had any serious issues with flash, but then again I didn't use it very extensively either. It was there when I needed it and worked decently enough from my Fascinate onward. Somewhat sad to see the option to use it taken away but I understand why, it was a bandaid, it served its purpose and Adobe let it rot on the vine.

cashxx says:

Yay the witch is dead.......now Silverlight and Java need to go away!!

coraphise says:

Didn't know Silverlight was on Android... unless I've misunderstood something though, Android kind of needs Java to run.

cashxx says:

Talking about in general.....They are all security hazards!

camiller says:

Why exactly is Java a security hazard?

Rancid88 says:

Its a hazard Because of all the zero days that remain unfixed, java essentially runs code that if cross scripted or modified could do some serious damage, and flash is way to powerful for just playing videos and sad.y there are better alternatives

Fuzzypaws says:

Java doesn't use the normal event execution stack that every other program in an operating system does. It uses its own, which bypasses all the security protocols built into the OS. This is why Java is actually the biggest security hole in Windows, out of Microsoft's control, and why the worst viruses and rootkits always target Java, and why it needs to be kept up to date.

joebob2000 says:

Irony, sweet irony. Java is what the OS parts are put together with. However, the java in the browser is a whole additional layer, java-on-java if you will. And boy is it agonizing. HTML5 needs to step up and get it done.

epidemicsparc says:

Wow, so you hate Java, Silverlight and Flash. I'm assuming you probably hate Active X as well. Well, since you hate all of these, i've got this amazing browser you should try out. It's called Lynx. Go check it out and stay in the 19th century and then stfu.

Analog says:

There are people who *like* ActiveX?

craigwann says:

WOW, you have absolutely no idea what your talking about. JAVA is thriving and nowhere near dead. It occurs to me that you might mean javascript, in which case you are still ridiculously uninformed.

cashxx says:

You must program in Java?

No didn't mean javascript. Java. Java is slow and a security issue. Just about any Java app I have touched is slow and buggy. Along with the recent exploits for it, not much better than Flash.

gtg465x says:

Pretty much every Android app is a Java app. Are you saying every app on your phone is slow and buggy? If so, why are you still using an Android phone?

camiller says:

Java before 1.4 was slow. Optimizing compilers and well tunes JVM's have changed that in the last 6 years or so.

Nightwolf76 says:

Yeah....good luck without Java. Let me know how that works out for you.

Cyrilmak says:

You seriously have no clue what you're talking about. Silverlight is lightyears ahead of Flash in every sense of the word. Also Dolby Digital 5.1 is amazing with Silverlight. Netflix anyone?

trm96 says:

Its not that big deal if you really need flash on your Android device you can just sideload it...

Bolt473 says:

I actually don't care, really. When I first got my tablet I used flash because I could. Now I use Chrome, and actually haven't run across a single instance where I need flash. I suppose that means I'm totally ready for CM10, right?

j_grouchy says:

Serious question: Is there even a reason to have it anymore? I mean...I'd like to know if I can dump it altogether. I ask in the off chance that something I use or some site I visit uses it.

camiller says:

There is nothing I need it for, but the wife wants her mobile farmville...

hevenz says:

Pr0n

CMercs says:

How can we even tell IF we have it loaded? I have a Jelly Bean device and an Ice Cream Sandwich device (and a WebOs device and a couple of 2.3 device).

How can I load it on my Jelly Bean device (Nexus 7, Xoom and hopefully soon my HTC E4L)

icebike says:

Oh, boy.... Welcome to Android.
Try the app drawer. Little grid of 6 dots upper right hand corner.

veii says:

Its a shame. There are a few sites I use, like the BBC News site that use flash for their video content. It'll make me feel like I'm using a crippled mobile device instead of having a "desktop experience" with the whole web accessable to me.

Shadowriver says:

They will switch to HTML5 eventually.... it's translation that web need go thru sooner or later, web should not be depended of commercial platform in first place

hmmm says:

Yeah, you will be able to find it online and sideload it easily. I don't really use it much, thankfully. I'd be pissed if I did since a huge part of the internet still uses it. A coworker of mine cannot listen to a radio program she likes on her Nexus 7 because of this arbitrary decision.

It is funny that tech sites complain and moan and groan about how bad flash is but then continue to use it on their sites. Stupid hypocrites.

installerman says:

The future is HTML5!

incrediblecub says:

Let us hope that future gets less buggy and less browser crippling before it becomes a spotlight mainstay.

cobrakon says:

I've tested all of the HTML5 tech demos and they can't hold a candle to advanced flash 10 sites. Granted there are many bad flash sites, but HTML5 can't match the interactivity yet, canvas and web GL be dammed.

mikegonzalez2k says:

HTML5 is the way to go anyhow, Flash won't be missed.

swfideas says:

dude html5 isn't the mesiah of al client side needs

j.wolfe77 says:

But...but..... my porn uses flash!!!!

venom845pd says:

So what i have the black market app so suck it adobe xD

boriqua2000 says:

Does this mean i can't watch porn videos on xvideos.com? Life sucks

epidenimus says:

Never thought I'd utter these words, but: Apple was so right about this.

jimtravis says:

Respect your opinion, but disagree. Apple was wrong. One of the reasons I use Android vs. iOS is support for Flash. Whether we like it or not, Flash is ubiquitous on the web, and without it, you are relegated to a large subset of the web, not the full web. HTML 5 may, or may not match Flash in features eventually, but some of the current, and still relevant older sites, may never be upgraded. I recently did a presentation at a user group on why I prefer Android to iOS. I saved a sampling of pages that would not display properly on the iPad, but did on Android. Contrary to the web lore, they were not porn, or game sites. Some of the pages were a major aircraft manufacturer, a general tech review site (ironically the article that would not display properly was the iPhone 4S review), and a major Boston area shopping mall. There were many others, but I chose those 3 for my presentation.

Until every relevant web site has a Flash alternative, or native app, we Android users will be relegated to partial web viewing like our iOS friends. I am very disappointed with Adobe, and to some extent Google for not pressuring Adobe to reverse this decision. I would pay for updated Flash apps until the full web is Flash free which probably will not happen in my lifetime.

npco543 says:

I agree completely on all your points. A very well reasoned and factual response to the baseless, knee-jerk criticism by those who have blindly chosen to jump on the "death to Flash" bandwagon. Flash may have reached a point of relative stagnation, but it still served a significant roll, and one that HTML5 is far too primitive yet to fill.

It's really been amazing to see how willing people are to be led like sheep to a position most can't even elaborate on or justify, certainly not by endorsing Flash's supposed successor technology (HTML5). It may one day get there, and it may ultimately be a superior technology, but it's not there yet... not by a long shot. Anyone who honestly suggests HTML5 is ready to fill Flash's shoes is simply clueless.

Mr. West says:

But we need our pr0n

Zammo76 says:

Well done adobe for forcing us to consume the web like we have a 'crippled' iPhone.
Flash is still alive and kicking you only need to look at BBC's website to see that, and there are undoubtedly millions of otherwebsites that won't work properly without it. Talk about playing into that dead creeps hands.

opjones says:

The only thing i want to know is, how will this effect my porn?

CrCross says:

Oh crap! Does this leave my phone as useless a an iPhone? Nooooooooooo....