Microsoft has announced that upcoming releases of Microsoft Edge will support better control over Flash with Click-to-Run. This latest announcement comes after Microsoft gave users more control over Flash in the Anniversary Update by selectively pausing certain Flash content, like ads, that were not central to the page.
According to Crispin Cowan and Microsoft Edge Team, the next release of Edge extends on Flash functionality introduced in the Anniversary Update and will, “encourage the transition to HTML5 alternatives by providing additional user control over when Flash content loads.”
As has been routine, Windows Insiders will also soon be able to try out the feature soon in the next preview builds. The overall experience will improve when the Windows 10 Creators Update is released next Spring.
Per Microsoft, the feature will work like this:
Sites that support HTML5 will default to a clean HTML5 experience. In these cases, Flash will not even be loaded, improving performance, battery life, and security. For sites that still depend on Flash, users will have the opportunity to decide whether they want Flash to load and run, and this preference can be remembered for subsequent visits.
Microsoft notes that these changes in Flash Click to Run will not initially affect most web sites which have come to rely on Flash. The company will monitor the use of Flash in Edge and will, in turn, short lists of automatic exceptions, but still put users in control of choosing where and where not to use Flash.
