Flash, developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated (NASDAQ:ADBE), was a vital part of the browsing experience if users wanted to watch videos and listen to music freely on the internet. Now, it seems quite obvious that Flash is heading towards a dark future since Amazon has announced to no longer accept Flash advertisements on their ad network from September 1. The tech giant pointed out earlier too that the latest updates of Chrome, Safari and Firefox make Flash ads simply unreliable.
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The move comes after the security of Flash was once again called into question when the breach of Italian company Hacking Team uncovered a slew of previously unknown flaws in Flash. An Amazon spokesperson would not elaborate on the thinking behind the decision. In July, for example, an exploit for Flash was discovered in which hackers were able to hijack the computers of any Yahoo user. Errors and mistakes occur, but Flash is creating more critics than fans and they say consistent security issues are just one of many reasons to not use the platform. But its decision to block Flash content is significant because it is a clear sign that some in the ad industry are responding to Flash’s imminent demise.
“This feels very much like preparation for the Chrome change”, said Eric Franchi, co-founder of Undertone, in an interview with Digiday. Web advertising, however, was an area Flash still dominated, at least for desktops.
And Amazon isn’t alone. It has played a huge role in the way web has transformed over the years, however, in the last few years, Flash started to lose its charm when companies decided to move to more efficient technologies. The format, however, also introduces some new hurdles for agencies, which have to adjust to its code-heavy creation process.
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“Things are building, but I’m not seeing any real urgency, probably because people still aren’t ready”, said Franchi.
