Dive Brief:
- Amazon is the latest tech firm to drop Flash support on its website and the Amazon Advertising Platform.
- The move comes after Google’s Chrome browser and Firefox both announced automatically blocking Flash content, and Facebook’s chief of security calling for a “kill date” for the browser plug-in.
- Amazon’s move goes into effect Sept. 1.
Dive Insight:
If Adobe’s Flash isn’t officially dead, it’s definitely off of life support.
Facebook’s chief of security has called for its “kill date,” both Chrome and Firefox browsers automatically block Flash content, and starting Sept. 1, Amazon’s website and the Amazon Advertising Platform will no longer serve Flash-based ads. One problem for marketers is rich media ads were built on Flash, and the tech world has passed that content by. HTML5 is the current successor for Flash, but also has some inherent issues, but none as serious as the security holes that got Flash to the corner it now finds itself painted into.
In a statement Amazon said, “This change ensures customers continue to have a positive, consistent experience across Amazon and its affiliates, and that ads displayed across the site function properly for optimal performance.”
In July an attack on Yahoo exploited a Flash vulnerability that allowed Yahoo user’s computers to be hijacked.