This article was published on February 9, 2016

Google ads will no longer use Flash by this summer


Google ads will no longer use Flash by this summer Image by: Based on image from Shutterstock

Thanks to a Google announcement today, we’re now one step closer to the death of Flash on the web. The announcement established a timeline for Google to drop Flash ads and go 100 percent HTML5 instead.

On June 30, 2016, Google will no longer accept new Flash ads. Older Flash ads can continue to run until January 2, 2017. After that date, Google Display Network and DoubleClick Digital Marketing will be fully HTML5.

The move was an expected one, as Google has been trying to nudge its advertisers away from Flash for a while now with tools to “update your Flash ads to HTML5 ads” as well as a guide of best practices for making the switch.

Google isn’t alone in its desire to kill Flash, either. Former Apple CEO Steve Jobs was a notorious Flash hater, and even Adobe itself dropped Flash Professional — its Flash creation tool — in favor of Adobe Animate, which outputs projects in HTML5.

Google display ads go 100% HTML5 [Adwords Google+ Page via Ars Technica]

Get the TNW newsletter

Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.

Also tagged with