Apple deactivates Flash by default in Safari 10 for macOS Sierra

Adobe’s Flash was everywhere at one time, but now, it’s dying a slow death. Hammering more nails into that coffin is Apple, which has just announced that Safari 10 is dropping support for flash by default. Safari 10 is the browser that will ship with Apple’s latest OS, macOS Sierra , which is shipping this fall. Reportedly, the browser will not enable support for Flash by default. If there’s an option for an HTML5 page, Safari will switch to that. If Safari has no option but to use Flash, it will give users the option to enable it just for that session or permanently for that particular website. With the never-ending list of vulnerabilities in Flash and Apple’s long-standing dislike, bordering on hatred, for the platform, it’s an understandable decision. Hopefully, Flash and Java (not JavaScript), possibly the two most insecure platforms currently employed by websites will be killed soon. In a famous letter on the subject, Steve Jobs laid down his views on the matter for all to read. This was in 2010. He pointed out that while iOS itself is a closed and proprietary platform, the protocols and standards employed are open source and highly secure, unlike Flash. He also adds that Flash is simply not suitable for building powerful, feature-rich apps. Of course, you can’t talk about Flash without talking about security issues. Steve Jobs spoke about it in 2010 and we’re still hearing about critical vulnerabilities five years later.