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Google now flags Flash content in search results on iOS/Android devices, saving clicks

If you’ve ever been frustrated by visiting a website on your iPhone or iPad and finding it won’t work because it uses Flash, you’ll welcome the latest Google initiative: it is now flagging Flash content in its search results, warning that the site may not work on your device.

Starting today, we will indicate to searchers when our algorithms detect pages that may not work on their devices. For example, Adobe Flash is not supported on iOS devices or on Android versions 4.1 and higher, and a page whose contents are mostly Flash may be noted

As Google notes, Android has now also abandoned Flash support due to the same reliability, security and performance concerns that Steve Jobs expressed in his famous open letter to Adobe back in 2010. Adobe has been forced to issue a succession of security updates to Flash, the most recent being two emergency updates earlier this year.

Google says it hopes the move, coupled to Web Fundamentals and Web Starter Kit initiatives for developers will encourage the use of HTML5 in place of Flash.

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Comments

  1. towamp - 10 years ago

    what’s Flash?

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Avatar for Ben Lovejoy Ben Lovejoy

Ben Lovejoy is a British technology writer and EU Editor for 9to5Mac. He’s known for his op-eds and diary pieces, exploring his experience of Apple products over time, for a more rounded review. He also writes fiction, with two technothriller novels, a couple of SF shorts and a rom-com!


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