While THE Flash continues to be popular on the CW Network, Flash on the web continues to fade slowly away. Amazon Advertising has issued an update to its technical guidelines, notifying users that it will stop accepting Flash-based ads beginning in September. It cites “recent browser setting updates from Google Chrome, and existing browser settings from Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari” that interfere with Flash-based ads.
Lack of support for the Adobe Flash plug-in on iOS garnered much attention around the launch of the iPad five years ago as the full-sized tablet browser was criticized for presenting holes on the web where Flash content otherwise would be, Apple CEO Steve Jobs minimizing the holes as mostly ads at the time. Now Amazon is making sure that doesn’t happen to their ad platform.
Following a security scare last month around the plug-in, Mozilla completely disabled Flash support in their Firefox browser. Safari users are required to use the most recent version of the plug-in due to those same security concerns. Google’s Chrome still has support by default, although it does use energy saving techniques to prevent the plug-in form being a resource and battery hog.
Amazon’s new technical guidelines, including the information about the end of Flash ads support on its advertising channels can be read here.
