Google said that it will stop accepting advertisements made with Adobe’s Flash plug-in as of June this year and will ban them outright by the beginning of 2017.
Google will instead encourage advertisers to use HTML5 across its AdWords, Google Display Network, and DoubleClick Digital Marketing divisions. The transition will “enhance the browsing experience for more people on more devices,” Google said in a post.
Google’s decision is yet another nail in the coffin for Adobe (ADBE) Flash technology. Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs notoriously hated the plug-in and didn’t provide support for it on any iPhones or iPads, saying back in 2010 that Flash has “reliability, security, and performance” issues.
Flash-based ads are still ubiquitous across the web, though. Nearly 84% of banner ads use Flash today, reported Ad Age. In sheer number terms, over 100 million ads were served using Flash in the 12 months through June 2015.
However, that will start to change over the next few years as Google (GOOG) bans Flash-based ads and other companies likely follow suit. Amazon (AMZN) also already banned the plug-in for advertisements on its website.