Windows gets update to permanently remove Adobe Flash

We've almost reached the end of the Flash era. This plug-in was extremely popular in the early 2000s as it enabled the creation of rich media content that executed in web browsers. Unfortunately, Flash quickly became a security nightmare and it eventually got replaced by a combination of modern, native alternatives like HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript.

Adobe will cease supporting Flash on December 31, 2020 and Microsoft just rolled out an update to remove Adobe Flash Player from your Windows device. The update is available for versions of Windows that featured a built-in Flash Player, like Windows 8.x and Windows 10.

This update removes Adobe Flash Player that is installed on any of the Windows operating systems that are listed in the "Applies to" section. After you apply this update, it cannot be uninstalled.

Note If you must use Adobe Flash Player again on your device after this update has been installed, use one of the following methods:

Method 1: Reset your device to an earlier system restore point. This feature must be explicitly enabled and a system restore point must have been created on your Windows device before you apply this update. For more information about system restore point, see Back up and restore your PC.

Method 2: Reinstall your Windows operating system, but do not apply this update.