Adobe Flash reached its end-of-life (EOL) on December 31, 2020, and as of January 12, 2021, any remaining Flash Player installations will be blocked from playing content.

Using Adobe Flash Player Install Manager. By far the most effective and cleanest way to remove Flash Player is by making use of the Installation Manager. This simple process will ensure all relevant Flash Player files are removed. Locate Adobe Flash Player Install Manager on your Mac. The Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller running in macOS. First, you have to download the appropriate uninstaller for your version of macOS or Mac OS X. There are three general versions available, covering Mac OS X 10.1 to 10.3, OS X 10.4 and 10.5, and OS X 10.6 and later including macOS, so make sure to download the appropriate version for your Mac. The Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller running in macOS. First, you have to download the appropriate uninstaller for your version of macOS or Mac OS X. There are three general versions available, covering Mac OS X 10.1 to 10.3, OS X 10.4 and 10.5, and OS X 10.6 and later including macOS, so make sure to download the appropriate version for your Mac.

1. Click Uninstall in the uninstaller to begin removing Flash from your Mac. Wait for the uninstaller to finish its job. When Flash Player is removed, you’ll see a success message on your screen.
2. Jan 12, 2021 The Flash Player is a separate application that needs to be uninstalled, before you can seriously consider your Mac Flash-free. The Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller running in macOS.

Since Adobe Flash is now unsupported, meaning that it will no longer receive security patches — and since won’t be able to play content anyway — you should definitely remove it from your system now if you haven’t done so already. (For more on the background to Adobe’s decision to kill Flash, as well as the security issues involved, see this article).

Adobe Flash Player Mac Download

Here’s how uninstall Flash Player on a Mac:

1. Find your macOS version by going to Apple menu >About this Mac.
2. Download the appropriate uninstaller tool for your OS version.
   For macOS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) and later, you can use this uninstaller.
   If you’re running macOS 10.4 (Tiger) or 10.5 (Leopard), use this uninstaller instead.
   For older OSes, see Adobe’s website for detailed instructions.
3. Locate the .dmg file for the uninstaller in your Downloads folder and double click on it; then double click on the Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller icon that appears in the window.
4. When the uninstaller opens, click on the Uninstall button to run the tool.
5. If you have any web browsers open, you’ll be prompted to close them in order to complete the uninstall process. You can do this manually, or by using the Force Close option provided by the uninstaller.

If the uninstall was successful, you will see a message telling you that Adobe Flash Player was uninstalled from your system. If you want to double-check, you can go to this page on Adobe’s site and click on the Check Now button to see if Flash is installed on your system; you should see a message telling you that you don’t have Flash.

In the weeks and months ahead, be on the lookout for Adobe-related phishing or social engineering attacks. Flash is obsolete, but bad actors may still try to trick users with fake “updates”, legacy plugin offers, removal tools, and the like. Bottom line? After Adobe Flash is gone from your system, you shouldn’t ever try to install anything Flash-related again.

If you know Mac users who aren’t quite as security-savvy as you are, you may also want to take a moment this week to remind them that Flash has reached EOL. Tell them to uninstall Flash Player from their systems if they haven’t done it yet, and let them know to avoid having anything to do with Flash going forward.

Questions about this process, or about Mac security in general? Feel free to reach out to us and let us know. If you want to learn more about how to configure a Mac for security, check out this article with tips on setting up a new Mac, or read more about Open Firmware Password Protection.

Ugh, another Flash exploit?! BGR reported Thursday that Adobe has confirmed “a major security vulnerability that affects all versions of Flash for Windows, Mac, and Linux.” Adobe says this vulnerability is being used by hackers, although for very targeted attacks—phishing, in other words.

“Successful exploitation could cause a crash and potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system,” Adobe says in its security bulletin.

Well, that’s just great.

Trend Micro, which discovered the flaw, says that targets are receiving phishing emails with URLs that look like news articles, sent to “several foreign affairs ministries from around the globe.” I don’t work for a foreign affairs ministry and you might not either, but nothing is stopping other hackers from taking advantage of the same flaw.

We all like to think we’re smart enough to avoid phishing scams—and I’m sure you are! And we’d like to think Adobe will get this patched soon—the company says it hopes to do that next week. But if you really want to be safe from this flaw, and the next, and the next, and the next, there’s one foolproof step you can take: Uninstall Flash.

How to uninstall Flash

To get Flash off of your Mac for good, you’ll need an uninstaller from Adobe. There are distinct versions for OS X 10.6 and later, for 10.4 and 10.5, and even one for 10.1 to 10.3.

Find the uninstaller for the version of OS X that you have. (If you aren’t sure, just click the Apple logo in your menu bar and select About This Mac. The popup window will say.) Click its link to download it to your Downloads folder.

When you launch the uninstaller from your Downloads folder, it runs, and you have to click Uninstall. Just in case you launched the uninstaller but didn’t want to uninstall anything, I guess.

After you enter your account password, you’re prompted to close all your browsers. The uninstaller can do that, or you can quit them yourself.

The uninstaller will do its thing and let you know when it’s done.

Uninstall Flash Player Mac High Sierra

Once it’s finished, Adobe recommends you delete a couple of folders from your Library too. To open your home directory’s Library folder, go to the Finder, click Go in the menu bar, and then hold down the Option key to make the Library folder appear in the drop-down menu. Open it, and then find and destroy these two folders:

(Note that Adobe’s instructions don’t include deleting those folders if you are running Mac OS 10.1 to 10.3. Most of you are probably on 10.4 Tiger at least by now.)

If you want to make sure it’s really gone, go to Adobe’s Flash Player Help page and click the Check Now button to check if it’s on your computer.

If you ever want to get Flash again, just re-download the latest version directly from Adobe. It’s a terrible idea to get it anywhere else.

Uninstall Flash Player Windows 10

Do you use Flash, or have you kicked it to the curb once and for all? Sound off in the comments!