Recent reports have been full of speculation (and hope) that Flash is finally being given the boot, five years after Steve Jobs’ ‘Thoughts on Flash’ letter.

iOS has never been friends with Flash, Google is now automatically converting ads to HTML5, most popular sites either use HTML5 or other technologies and Mozilla’s Firefox is blocking it by default until “Adobe releases an updated version to address known critical security issues”. Since its inception, Flash has been resource hungry, leading to device instability (and therefore lack of support) and is notorious for security vulnerabilities – much like Adobe’s PDF format.

Though Facebook still uses Flash for the majority of its video streaming capabilities, with the exception of browsers that support HTML5, Facebook Chief Security Officer, Alex Stamos, has added his name to the list of those calling for Adobe to scrap it.

Dubbed by TNW as the ‘knotweed of the internet’, it’s unlikely that we’ll see an immediate demise because so much of the internet remains dependant on it. What Stamos, and many others, are calling for is an ‘end-of-life date’ and although the end isn’t imminent, advertisers should be taking note of the developments and making the switch to HTML5.

If you’re in need of an HTML5 design agency in Brighton, you know where to find us.