Google is using the ubiquity of its Chrome browser to deal a blow to Adobe, following Apple’s lead. This week Google announced it won’t automatically fire Flash-made ads in its browser, meaning the ads won’t animate unless you push play. Google says most Flash ads uploaded to its Adwords platform are converted into HTML5 anyway. But come September those that aren’t auto-converted will need to be manually converted or they won’t fire in Chrome. Guess who will still be making Flash ads? Yup, nobody.
The reason for the change is to improve user experience and browser performance. Flash is an inefficient user of battery power. It has also had some security vulnerabilities. The Google move was originally announced in June, when Chrome added a setting that paused Flash ads. The recent announcement makes that setting the Chrome default. Apple long ago decided it wouldn’t support Flash on the iPhone or iPad.
