Last updated: April 2, 2020
- An UPDATED VERSION of this article is available here.
- Watch the companion video: Unblock Flash in Google Chrome
Flashpocolypse. Sure it’s a silly name. But what *pocolypse isn’t? The beginning of the end of Flash has been circling overhead for some time, but the beast will not die. The latest release of Google Chrome certainly must weaken Flash’s resolve to live for much longer. In June, Google announced in a blog post that it introduced a beta feature in Chrome that would “intelligently pause content (like Flash animations) that aren’t central to the webpage.” That feature is no longer in beta. Flash content that Chrome deems non-central no longer plays by default.
The primary intention of killing Flash content in this manner was to help preserve laptop battery life. Its impact reaches farther than power consumption. Publishers dependent on Flash advertisements, for example, may no longer see impressions or corresponding revenue from Chrome visitor activity on their sites. Google’s own ad network, AdSense, does not deliver Flash ads, opting instead for HTML5 ads. As such, the impact on AdSense publishers will likely be minimal. Myriad recent security issues with Flash Player must also be a consideration when deciding to block Flash ads by default. No matter the reason, we will show you how to unblock Flash in Chrome so you aren’t deprived of any of the great Flash ad content you may still encounter.
Unblock Flash in Chrome
First, please note that this article was first published in 2015. An updated version of this article is available here.
To unblock the Flash Player plugin in Chrome, and show a recommended prompt to allow Flash content when you encounter it, click the Customize and control Google Chrome button. It is the icon with 3 vertical dots located to the right of the web address bar. Click Settings.
Scroll down to the bottom of the Settings page, and click the Advanced link. When the page expands to display advanced settings, scroll down to the Privacy and security section, and click Site Settings.
In Site Settings, scroll down to the Permissions section and click Flash.
To unblock Flash in Chrome, toggle the Block sites from running Flash button to Ask first.
The option exists to manage certain Flash behavior on specific sites. When you encounter Flash content, Chrome asks you to Click to enable Adobe Flash Player. When you click to enable Flash, click to Allow or Block Flash for that site.
Review and remove sites you allowed or blocked from Flash settings. Click the Trash icon to the right of a site to remove it from the Allow or Block list.
Thank you for visiting Tech Help Knowledgebase to learn how to unblock Flash in Chrome.
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