Since last year, many web companies have deviated from Flash content for security reasons. Some big names include tech firm Apple, social giant Facebook, video game streaming service Twitch and many others. And while Google’s own YouTube service started streaming video in HTML5 by default since January, Chrome continued to use a bit of flash for lot of content display. That is now set to change.
Google had announced in June via Google+, that they would be deviating from Flash ads and Chrome would automatically pause them for you in the coming months. The post had stated that AdWords would automatically convert Flash to HTML5 for you. This was a step to allow advertisers to use HTML5 so that they might able to reach the widest possible audience across screens.
It also stated that Chrome would, by default, switch on a setting designed to increase page-load speed and reduce power consumption by pausing certain plugin content, including many Flash ads. That’s what Google has brought for us today.
The company has now announced through another post on Google+, that this setting will be implemented automatically starting September 1. That means Flash ads, which generally drain a lot of juice from an untethered laptop, use a lot of data and in general irritate most users to no end (with its obvious security flaws), will now be paused by Google’s ever-improving web browser without a hitch. The overall user experience from there will surely skyrocket as Flash ads are very annoying.
Google says that the tool works in a way to stop Flash content which is not central to a webpage while ensuring uninterrupted streaming for more central data. And no, Google isn’t, in any way, working against Flash maker Adobe. In fact Google actually partnered up with Adobe to develop the feature. Google believes that this feature will result in an overall better battery life and speed improvements.
The post announcing the feature also states that most Flash ads uploaded to AdWords are automatically being converted to HTML5. If you think that your ads should continue to show on the Google Display Network, the web giant wants you to follow these steps before September 1:
- Identify any Flash ads in your account that aren’t eligible for automatic conversion: https://goo.gl/I4186A
- Convert these ads to HTML5: https://goo.gl/ZBq5DR
