Farewell to Flash Player: Mac users no longer need it! Over the years, almost everyone who surfs the Internet has encountered various pop-ups asking for download or upgrade to Flash Player for Mac. Oftentimes, these popups have little explanation, making you wonder: “Do I really need to install Adobe Flash Player on my Mac?”

The answer is no. Although Adobe has stopped supporting Flash Player, you should still avoid installing it. This article will recommend some good alternatives and explain how to uninstall Flash Player and prevent it from affecting your system.

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Free Trial Do You Really Need Adobe Flash Player?

Adobe Flash is a proprietary software that started in the late 1990s and aims to add advanced interactivity, gaming and video capabilities to your browser. By the early 21st century, Flash had gained support from all major browsers and seemed to dominate the internet.

Twenty years later, Adobe terminated it. One of the main reasons Adobe stopped supporting Flash Player in 2020 is that it is increasingly vulnerable to malware threats. While there are many viable open standards that can replace Flash Player, there is no reason to continue to support it.

Even before 2020, Adobe Flash Player has been controversial. In a 2010 press release, Steve Jobs elaborated on the reason why he did not default to integrating Adobe Flash in Safari browser. His main criticism of the platform is its closed proprietary nature, slow updates, weak security and the emergence of an increasing number of open standards that arguably better handle browser interactivity.

Fortunately, the popularity of Adobe Flash has dropped significantly over the past 10 years. Currently, 95% of websites have switched to the open HTML5 standard. This even includes all major video companies like Vimeo, Netflix, Facebook and YouTube.

Is Flash Player safe?

Not safe. Adobe Flash's security concerns have long been the main reason most developers dissuad people from installing the app - and they are right.

You may have noticed that Adobe Flash Player download popups often appear on the most unreliable sites. These popups are likely to be hackers leveraging the Adobe Flash installer to hack your system.

Tip: Use CleanMyMac X to scan your Mac for malware to ensure your safety. Your Mac runs slower than before, or suspicious programs appear on your Mac are all key symptoms of malware infection.

Best Flash Player Alternatives for Mac

Fortunately, you can play Flash format using Elmedia Player on your Mac. This powerful player supports FLV and SWF as well as many other media formats. It is also a real treasure when it comes to play control, creating playlists, bookmarking and taking video screenshots, etc. So, no matter which media player you use on your Mac, Elmedia is a great alternative.

Note: You may have some problems playing Flash movies using Elmedia on your M1 Mac. We recommend that you do the following: Go to Finder > Applications and find Elmedia Player.app. Right-click it and select Show Introduction. Then, select "Open with Rosetta". Exit and reopen Elmedia.

Elmedia Player is part of Setapp, an app subscription service for macOS and iOS, which means you can try it for free! In addition to Elmedia, Setapp covers other advanced video players, such as Movis Pro, which has the best subtitle support settings we've seen.

How to install Adobe Flash Player on Mac

You can no longer install Adobe Flash Player on your Mac via the official Adobe website - this is the only legal way to install it. You may find some articles that recommend workarounds, but we recommend that you avoid these to ensure your computer is safe.

It is very important that even if you don't have Adobe Flash Player installed on your Mac, you may still see popups prompting you to install or update Flash while browsing the web. Make sure you never click on these pop-ups.

AdLock can help you block ads and popups on your Mac. It is easy to customize and you can apply flexible filters as needed to enable ad blocking only in some applications.

Tip: Package your frequently visited web pages into MenubarX, a menu bar browser that takes up less CPU, is always within reach, and has less interference.

Completely uninstall Flash Player for Mac

There are many misunderstandings about deleting Flash Player. When you download Flash Player for Mac, it does not install itself as an application, but is integrated into your system preferences. Therefore, removing Flash Player is not as simple as dragging it to a trash. Adobe has a page dedicated to the uninstall process and lets you download a separate tool to properly remove Flash.

To delete Flash Player in Adobe:

1. Download the uninstaller for your macOS
2. Open it like any app and follow the instructions
3. Restart your Mac.

However, because Flash Player is widely available on your Mac, it is highly recommended that you use a professional third-party uninstaller like CleanMyMac X.

Get the Mac professional uninstaller

With CleanMyMac X, you can remove unwanted software and junk files from your computer by cleaning up at one time. This is a powerful cleaning tool that deserves your attention.

Free trial using CleanMyMac X to uninstall Adobe Flash Player for Mac:

1. Navigate to the Uninstall Programs tab
2. Choose Adobe from vendor
3. Select the box next to Flash Player and click Uninstall.

Overcome the limitations of Flash using Setapp

Overall, there is currently no reason to download Flash Player for Mac. Almost all modern websites have switched to community-supported standards such as HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. That's why we recommend that you uninstall it completely if you still have it installed on your computer. Additionally, there are some great alternative Mac players to play Flash formats, such as Elmedia Player.

Also, make sure to check for malware with CleanMyMac X to fully protect yourself from any worst-case scenarios and use AdLock to avoid clicking on any Flash-related ads.

Don't want to spend money on these professional apps? Well, we're pleased to tell you that you can try Elmedia Player, Movis Pro, CleanMyMac X, AdLock, and MenubarX for free, as well as try over 240 high-end Mac and iPhone apps with Setapp subscription.

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