Google is finally replacing Adobe Flash Player on its Chrome browser. The company is rolling out HTML5 to its users. The update is phased, so it’ll take a few months for all Chrome users to get it, with only 1% of the total users getting it initially. The company announced on the Chromium Blog today, that the change to Chrome will now disable Adobe Flash Player by default, and users will have to give permission to run Flash.
“To ensure a smooth transition, not all users and sites will be affected immediately. HTML5 by Default and the associated user prompts will be introduced gradually,” says the blog post. HTML5 by Default will first be enabled for 1% of Chrome 55 Stable users. This will happen in the “next few days”, and the feature has already been enabled for those on the Chrome 56 Beta version. The stable version of Chrome 56, which is expected in February, Google plans to enabling HTML5 by Default for all its users.
Further, from January onwards, you’ll be prompted to run Flash on a “site-by-site basis”, for the websites that you haven’t visited before. Google says it’ll use Site Engagement Index to avoid over-prompting. From October, 2017 onwards, all websites will need user permission to run Flash on Chrome. Google has directed users to the Flash Roadmap Page for more information on the Site Engagement Index thresholds.
The move from Flash to HTML5 comes with the promise to make browsing faster. Google had announced the death of Flash on Chrome, about four months ago, and is keeping true to its promise now.