The advantages of ClickToFlash are numerous. Since Flash isn't loaded until you specifically ask for it, your CPU usage will stay at normal levels when browsing the web. This has tons of benefits: web browsing stays speedy, your Mac laptop won't get as hot, and your Mac's fan won't come on as often. Oct 07, 2018 How to enable Flash player in Mac Chrome to play videos and games online. Also understand how to block Flash completely in Mac Chrome along with other Flash options for blocking or allowing Flash only on specific sites to save battery life. Adobe is changing the world through digital experiences. Our creative, marketing and document solutions empower everyone — from emerging artists to global brands — to bring digital creations to life and deliver them to the right person at the right moment for the best results.
Are you tired of seeing an update like this on your Mac? Adobe asks you to download and install an update to Flash Player because they have made some significant improvements in the new version?
Years ago, Adobe confirmed that they have a major security vulnerability related to Flash Player, as discovered by Trend Micro and reported BGR. There doesn't seem to be signs that those vulnerabilities are completely fixed as Adobe keeps releasing new versions for their Flash Player app.
While updating Flash on Mac is just a few clicks away, I found the process tedious and most of the time — unnecessary. Because unlike the old days we had to use Adobe Flash Player to view web videos as they were mostly encoded in Adobe’s proprietary Flash format.
Not anymore! These days modern web browsers (i.e. Safari, Chrome, Firefox, etc.) all work seamlessly to YouTube, Vimeo, and many other live streaming web services — leaving Flash Player off the table.
So, it makes sense to uninstall Adobe Flash Player from your Mac so you won't be bothered by the annoying updates and potential security issues.
In this article, I'm going to show you how to do that step by step. Note: two methods are introduced in case the first one doesn't work out.
Method 1: Remove It with Adobe Flash Player Install Manager
Please note that the screenshots below are taken from Flash version 29, based on macOS High Sierra. If your Mac is running an earlier macOS or an older version of Adobe Flash, minor user interface differences may apply.
Step 1: On your Mac, go to Applications > Utilities, find this app 'Adobe Flash Player Install Manager'. Click to run it.
Alternatively, you can do a quick search on Spotlight and select the 'TOP HIT' result.
Step 2: Click the Uninstall button in the new window called Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller, where it says 'This program will remove Adobe Flash Player from your computer.'
Step 3: Input your Mac's username and password and select 'Install Helper'. Personally, I find this annoying but there isn't a way to avoid installing the Adobe helper tool.
Note: the helper tool by Adobe is harmless. It's common for third-party applications like Adobe to ask user's permission to perform certain tasks such as removing items with special permissions, uninstalling items from Mac App Store, etc., because macOS puts many limits restrictions on this.
Step 4: DONE. A new window pops up saying Flash was removed from my system.
This is the recommended yet standard method for deleting Flash Player from a Mac. It should take you less than a minute to complete. The only downside of this method is that once you uninstall Flash Player, you end up with installing another Adobe app — the Helper tool.
Some Mac fellows reported that they encountered issues using the Adobe Flash Uninstaller app on their Macs, it's unclear what caused that. But if Method 1 didn't work out for you, turn to the second method — it's even quicker.
Method 2: Uninstall Flash Player with CleanMyMac
CleanMyMac 3, is an app developed by MacPaw Inc. that aims to make Mac cleanup and maintenance easy. While its core features are related to cleaning, the app also allows you to quickly uninstall third-party apps or extensions in batch, and removing Adobe Flash Player can be achieved easily as well.
Here's how:
- Download CleanMyMac and install the app on your Mac.
- Open it. On the left part of the main panel, find Extensions > Preference Panes, there you should be able to find 'Flash Player'.
- Select it and click the 'Remove' button.
That's it. Pretty easy, right? It's worth noting though, CleanMyMac isn't freeware (it has a free trial). We use the app quite often on our Macs and it works amazingly well and has saved us tons of time handling complex/techy tasks such as freeing up disk space, cleaning third-party apps or launch agents, finding large old items, and more. The app is definitely a productivity booster for most Mac users, especially if you are not a computer person.
Additional tip: Adobe actually has a dedicated article here in case you failed to install or uninstall Flash on your Mac. For example, an error message appears. There you'll find detailed troubleshooting guide.
Alright, now that we've shown two ways to get rid of Adobe Flash Player from your Mac. Are they helpful? Or do you have another 'secret' way to help get the job done?
Either way, leave a comment below and let us know.
Chris is a computer geek for a decade. He loved talking to computers via codes, and now he finds it more interesting communicating with the real people. He now writes everything related to computer issues and loves helping people solve problems.
By the simple virtue of browsing the web over the years, nearly all of us have seen a variety of pop-ups asking us to download or upgrade Flash Player for Mac. Usually, there’s little explanation involved, which leaves you thinking, “Do I really need to install Adobe Flash Player on Mac?”
Adobe Flash is a proprietary software that started in the late ‘90s as a way to include advanced interactivity, gaming functionality, and video capability into your browser. By the early 2000s, Flash was supported by every major browser and seemingly ran the internet. That is until Steve Jobs himself declared a war on it.
In a press release published by Apple in 2010, Steve Jobs laid out his reasons for not integrating Adobe Flash in the Safari browser by default. His main criticisms of the platform were its closed proprietary nature, slow updates, weak security, and increasing availability of open standards that were arguably better equipped to handle browser interactivity.
For a long time, Adobe Flash security issues were the primary reason most developers discouraged people from installing the application. As you may have noticed, oftentimes Adobe Flash Player download for Mac pop-ups haunt you on the least trustworthy websites. It’s highly likely that those were hackers using Adobe Flash installers to find a way into your system.
Fortunately, in the last 10 years, the popularity of Adobe Flash has decreased significantly. By now, 95% of all websites have switched to the open HTML5 standard. This even includes all the major video companies, such as Vimeo, Netflix, Facebook, and YouTube. In fact, the popularity of the Flash technology has declined so much now that Adobe decided to end its Flash support in 2020.
Flash For Mac Firefox
So is Adobe Flash Player safe? Generally, yes, given that you download Flash Player for Mac from Adobe’s official website. And sometimes there is no way around installing Flash as you might still need it to run that lagging 5% of the web properly. Whatever the reason, below we’ll discuss how to manage Adobe Flash safely and securely.
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How To Install Adobe Flash Player On Mac
If you absolutely need to download Adobe Flash Player for Mac, you should at the very least do it securely. Good tips to note are install Flash only when required, disable it when not in use, update it regularly to get the latest security patches, and delete it completely as soon as you can make the full switch to more modern web technologies.
Safely install Adobe Flash Player on Mac
If there would be only one takeaway from reading this article, it should be: never ever download Flash Player for Mac from unrecognized websites.
Using Macs in general is very safe. But by far the most popular way for hackers to get into your system is to persuade you to download malware that’s masking itself as a well-known program. And Flash Player for Mac tops the list, having the worst security record out of any software. Moreover, Adobe Flash is the number one reason Macs crash overall.
So when you are about to install Adobe Flash Player on Mac, you should:
Go to get.adobe.com/flashplayer (this is the only official Flash Player for Mac distributor)
Click “Download now”
Navigate to your Downloads folder and open the .dmg file
Proceed through the installation instructions
Restart the browser, after which Adobe Flash Player for Mac should be activated
Update Adobe Flash Player for Mac regularly
Once you have Flash Player installed, you need to remember to update it regularly (e.g. once a month) to avoid any security issues. To check whether there’s a new version of Flash available:
Open System Preferences
Click on the Flash Player and navigate to the Updates tab
Select Check Now or Install Now if there’s an update available
Disable Flash when not in use
When you encounter a website that doesn’t work properly without Flash, proceed to install the player from the official (very important) website as per the steps above. But for complete security, turn off Flash right after you use it and enable it only when there’s no workaround.
To disable Flash Player for Mac in Safari:
Go to Preferences and then Websites
Scroll down to Plug-ins and uncheck the Adobe Flash Player
Similarly, disabling Flash can be done in Content Settings in Chrome and Addons > Plugins in Firefox.
Flash For Mac Safari
Completely uninstall Flash Player for Mac
There’s a lot of confusion with regards to deleting Flash Player. As we’ve seen, when you download Flash Player for Mac, it doesn’t install itself as an app, but rather integrates into your System Preferences.
Hence removing Flash Player is not as easy as just dragging it to the Trash. Adobe has a whole page devoted to the uninstallation process and makes you download a separate tool to delete Flash properly.
To remove Flash Player the Adobe way:
Download the uninstaller for your macOS
Launch it as any app and follow the instructions
Restart your Mac
However, due to the Flash Player’s pervasive presence on your Mac, it’s highly recommended that you use a professional third-party uninstaller like CleanMyMac X.
A pro uninstaller for Mac
Download an all-mighty cleaning utility. One click and unnecessary software is gone with the wind.
To uninstall Adobe Flash Player on Mac with CleanMyMac X:
Navigate to the Uninstaller tab
Select Adobe from Vendors
Check the box next to Flash Player and click Uninstall
Recover files lost to Flash Player
Sometimes you simply can’t prevent the malware from getting into your system. And most of the time you only realize that infiltration happened after the fact, when you discover some of your files completely gone.
Good news is you might be able to recover your files if you act quickly. As soon as you notice any files missing, install a professional Mac recovery app like Disk Drill and follow this process:
Launch Disk Drill app from Applications
Find your hard drive in the list and click Recover
Choose one of the recommended options, from disabling system protection to connecting another Mac, to allow Disk Drill to recover lost files
Flash For Mac Chrome
Finally, to stop compromised apps or files from getting into your system, use a malware protection utility in CleanMyMac X on a regular basis.
To scan your Mac for viruses with CleanMyMac X:
Flash For Mac Download Free
Select the Malware Removal tab
Click Scan
Delete anything suspicious that shows up in the report
Flash For Mac Os
Overall, there are very few reasons to download Flash Player for Mac today. Nearly all modern websites have switched to community-supported standards like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. But if you need to use Flash, make sure to download it from the official source and turn it off when not required to protect yourself from its security flaws.
Flash For Macbook Pro Chrome
In addition, make sure you’re fully protected from any worst-case scenarios by checking for malware with CleanMyMac X and recovering lost files with Disk Drill. And if you use Google Chrome, you can avoid Adobe Flash Player download for Mac altogether as it comes pre-installed in the browser.
Don’t feel like spending money on buying all the professional apps? Both CleanMyMac X and Disk Drill are available for you to try for free, along with more than 150 high-end Mac apps and utilities, through Setapp — the best platform for curated Mac apps. Adobe Flash might be on its way out, but in the meantime, you should definitely verify that you’ve been using it responsibly all this time.