Microsoft Edge will auto-pause Adobe Flash ads on Windows 10

Microsoft is stepping up to help users pause ads and animations built on Adobe Flash on the Microsoft Edge browser with a new feature arriving with the Anniversary Update for Windows 10.

Microsoft Edge web browser for Windows 10 splash

The internet has been trying to get rid of Adobe Flash for years, but since it’s still around, Microsoft is now taking new steps to automatically pause “flashy” content on websites with a new feature in the Edge web browser coming with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update.

The feature aims to pause peripheral content, such as advertisements and animations built using Adobe Flash until, of course, the end-user explicitly clicks on it.

Microsoft says that the new approach will help to reduce power consumption significantly on laptops, tablets, and other mobile devices.

Furthermore, the software giant says that the feature is capable enough to detect which part of page is the central content and what is not, so it shouldn’t affect embed videos and other elements built on Flash that is part of the main content.

This is not the only feature available in the web browser to control Adobe Flash, Microsoft has also included for a long time a setting to disable Flash entirely, but the web technology is still a necessary evil in some scenarios.

The new Adobe Flash control is available as a preview on Windows 10 Insider Preview build 14316 — also known with the Redstone codename –, and the company plans to roll it out with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update later this summer.

While this could also be considered another punch for advertisers, now that Microsoft will allow adblocker extensions in its new browser, ad providers are already moving away from ads created with Adobe Flash in favor of new web standards like HTML5. Google, for example, will stop allowing Flash ad units as soon as next year.

Source Microsoft

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.