google Chrome 55 Now Blocks Flash, Uses HTML5 by Default

[vissha]

Chrome 55 Now Blocks Flash, Uses HTML5 by Default

 

 

Chrome 55, released earlier this week, now blocks all Adobe Flash content by default, according to a plan set in motion by Google engineers earlier this year.

 

Back in May, Google's staff announced that starting with Q4 2016, Chrome would use HTML5 by default, while Flash would be turned off.

 

While some of the initial implementation details of the "HTML5 By Default" plan changed since May, Flash has been phased out in favor of HTML5 as the primary technology for playing multimedia content in Chrome.

 

Users have to allow Flash to run on non-HTML5 websites

 

Google's plan is to turn off Flash and use HTML5 for all sites. Where HTML5 isn't supported, Chrome will prompt users and ask them if they want to run Flash to view multimedia content.

 

The user's option would be remembered for subsequent visits, but there's also an option in the browser's settings section, under Settings > Content Settings > Flash > Manage Exceptions, where users can add the websites they want to allow Flash to run by default.

 

 

Back in May, to avoid over-prompting users, Google said it would whitelist some of the Internet's biggest web portals where HTML5 isn't yet supported, or where not all content could be played back via HTML5 just yet. The list included YouTube, Flash, VK, and others.

 

This top 10 list has been dropped, in favor of a better system called Site Engagement (chrome://site-engagement) that gives scores to websites based on the number of visits and time spent on each site. The Site Engagement indicator takes a value from 1 to 100, and once it drops under 30, users will be prompted to enable Flash, regardless of the site's popularity and Alexa ranking.

 

Flash, who's been accused of being a resource hog and a security threat, will continue to ship with Chrome for the time being.

 

If you don't like Google's decision to go with HTML5 by default, there's an option in the chrome://flags section where you can revert to using Flash.

 

 

Google has been preparing for a life without Flash for many years now. YouTube has dropped Flash support a long time ago, while starting with January 2, 2017, Google will stop accepting Flash ads in its AdWords program.

 

Both Chrome and Firefox now block non-essential Flash content, such as analytics and user fingerprinting scripts. Google has been doing this since Chrome 53, and Mozilla since Firefox 48.

 

Source

[Karlston]

Woody's take...

 

Credit: Isaac Bowen

Flash is down but not out in the latest version of Chrome

Don't believe reports that Chrome 55, released over the weekend, 'kills' Flash. But it is a significant step in the ongoing battle against Flash

If you haven’t re-started Google Chrome since Friday, now would be a good time to do so. Most systems updated from Chrome version 54 to Chrome 55 over the weekend, and Chrome 55 brings some welcome changes in the ongoing battle against Flash.

 

News reports abound that say Chrome 55 “kills” Flash. It does nothing of the sort. Instead, it makes a few key changes in how users interact with webpages that contain Flash animations. InfoWorld's Paul Krill talked about the evolution of Chrome and the devolution of Flash back in August, when Chrome 53 started turning the Flash screws.

 

Here’s how the change is rolling out:

•  In September, Chrome 53 started blocking small Flash programs – primarily page hit counters, ads, peripheral animations, and little Flashy junk.
•  In October, Chrome 54 changed embedded YouTube links so they no longer point to Flash clips but to HTML 5. (Remember that Google owns YouTube.)
• Now Chrome 55 uses HTML5 by default when a site offers both Flash and HTML5 versions of its content. That’s a significant step on the road to killing Flash, but it’s hardly a headshot.

The switch to HTML5-by-default contains some key exceptions – and the details at this point are still murky. In general, Chrome users won’t be prompted to use Flash on some sites. Precisely which sites remains up in the air.

 

According to posts on Ycombinator’s Hacker News blog, the original plan for establishing a “whitelist” of the 10 top Flash-encumbered sites was shelved in October and replaced by a feature called Site Engagement, which bypasses the prompt on sites that users frequent.

In that same thread, profmonocle says:

Has Google confirmed this [Site Engagement] actually made it into Chrome 55? Their blog post about the release doesn’t mention it. One of the article’s sources is from earlier this year, and the developer thread they link to has been quiet for about a month. I wonder if plans changed and they’re leaving it behind a flag for now, or if they’re A/B testing it somehow.

I expect we’ll learn more this week.

 

Google is inching ahead in the war against Flash, but its competitors have also taken up the cause. Microsoft’s Edge changed with Win10 Anniversary Update (version 1607) to:

 

Intelligently auto-pause content that is not central to the webpage… Over time, we will provide users additional control over the use of Flash (including content central to the page) and monitor the prevalence of Flash on the web.

Firefox has taken initial steps as well, with Firefox engineering chief Benjamin Smedberg claiming:

In 2017, Firefox will require click-to-activate approval from users before a website activates the Flash plugin for any content.

Say good night, Flash. Not a moment too soon.

 

The story continues on AskWoody.com.

 

Source: Flash is down but not out in the latest version of Chrome (InfoWorld - Woody Leonhard)

[pc71520]

Transition from HTML5 to Flash...still to go...