How to Enable Automatic Updates for Adobe Flash Player

You can no longer enable automatic updates for Adobe Flash Player, because there are no updates left to install. Adobe stopped supporting Flash Player on December 31, 2020, and it blocked Flash content from running in Flash Player beginning January 12, 2021. Adobe now recommends that everyone uninstall Flash Player instead of trying to keep it up to date.

The shortest reliable route today is to remove it: on Windows, download and run the uninstaller from Adobe’s Uninstall Flash Player for Windows page, then restart the computer. The rest of this guide explains what happened to the automatic update setting, how to remove Flash Player on Windows and Mac, and how to avoid fake “Flash Player update” prompts.

Why You Can’t Turn On Flash Player Automatic Updates Anymore

Flash Player was a browser plug-in, which is a small add-on program that let web browsers play certain videos, games, and animations. It needed frequent security updates, and the automatic update setting existed so those updates could install on their own.

That setting has nothing to do now. According to Adobe’s Flash Player End of Life information page:

• Adobe stopped supporting Flash Player on December 31, 2020. Adobe calls this the end-of-life (EOL) date, meaning the date a product stops receiving support.
• Adobe does not issue Flash Player updates or security patches after that date.
• Adobe blocked Flash content from running in Flash Player beginning January 12, 2021.
• Adobe removed the Flash Player download pages from its site and will not make older versions available.
• Major browser makers have disabled Flash Player. Adobe notes that Apple Safari 14, released for macOS in September 2020, no longer loads Flash Player or runs Flash content.

Adobe says it ended Flash because open web standards such as HTML5, WebGL, and WebAssembly matured into alternatives, and because browser makers were building those standards in while dropping support for most plug-ins. Adobe first announced the plan in July 2017.

Before You Start

• This applies to every version. No version of Flash Player on Windows or Mac still receives updates, so there is no newer release to move to.
• You may need an administrator account. Uninstalling software on Windows usually triggers a User Account Control prompt, which is the Windows window that asks whether a program may make changes to your computer.
• Close your browsers first. Adobe says its uninstaller does not work while any program that uses Flash is running.
• Built-in copies are different. Adobe says its uninstaller does not apply to the Flash Player that was included with Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer on Windows 8 and later, or with Google Chrome. Those copies were handled by Microsoft and Google.

How to Uninstall Flash Player on Windows

These steps follow Adobe’s uninstall instructions for Flash Player that was installed separately on a Windows computer.

1. Open Adobe’s Uninstall Flash Player | Windows page and click the Uninstaller link in step 1 of that page. Save the file somewhere easy to find, such as the desktop.
2. Close every browser and any other program that uses Flash. Check the taskbar and the system tray (the small icons near the clock) for programs running in the background, then right-click each one and choose Close or Exit.
3. Double-click the uninstaller file that you downloaded.
4. Click Yes if Windows asks whether to allow the program to make changes to the computer, then follow the prompts until the uninstaller finishes.
5. Restart your computer.

Adobe also lists leftover folders that you can empty after the uninstaller runs. To open one, choose Start > Run, paste the folder path, and click OK. Delete the files inside each of these folders:

• C:\Windows\system32\Macromed\Flash
• C:\Windows\SysWOW64\Macromed\Flash
• %appdata%\Adobe\Flash Player
• %appdata%\Macromedia\Flash Player

Only delete files in those four Flash folders. Do not remove anything else from the system32 or SysWOW64 folders, because Windows needs the other files stored there. If a folder does not exist on your computer, skip it.

If you would rather use the standard Windows method for removing software, our guide on how to uninstall a program on Windows 11 shows where the list of installed apps is.

Remove the Flash Player That Came With Windows

Some Windows versions included their own copy of Flash Player for Microsoft’s browsers. Microsoft released an update named KB4577586, “Update for the removal of Adobe Flash Player,” to remove that copy.

Warning: Microsoft states that after this update has been applied, it cannot be uninstalled. Microsoft says the only ways to get that copy of Flash Player back are to reset the device to an earlier system restore point that already existed, or to reinstall Windows without applying the update.

Microsoft’s KB4577586 support article describes it as an optional update in Windows Update, and also offers it as a standalone package through the Microsoft Update Catalog. Check that article’s Applies To section to see whether your version of Windows is covered. On a computer that is fully up to date, the built-in copy may already be gone.

This update only removes the Flash Player that Windows installed. Microsoft says that if you installed Flash Player manually from another source, the update will not remove it, so use Adobe’s uninstaller for that copy. Keeping Windows current is the simplest way to receive changes like this one, and you can follow our steps on how to update Windows 11.

How to Uninstall Flash Player on a Mac

Adobe has a separate uninstaller for Mac computers, and the correct download depends on the macOS version.

1. Click the Apple icon and choose About This Mac to see your macOS version.
2. Open Adobe’s Uninstall Flash Player for Mac OS page and download the uninstaller listed for your version.
3. Open the downloaded file from your browser’s Downloads window, then double-click the Uninstaller icon. Click Open if your Mac asks whether you want to open the file.
4. Click Uninstall.
5. Close all browsers when the uninstaller asks. Adobe warns not to click Quit in the uninstaller window, because that stops the process.
6. Click Done when you see the message that the uninstallation succeeded.
7. Restart your Mac.

Adobe also says to delete two leftover folders in your home directory: Library/Preferences/Macromedia/Flash Player and Library/Caches/Adobe/Flash Player.

How to Confirm Flash Player Is Gone

Adobe’s check is simple: restart the computer, then open your browser and check the status of Flash Player. You can also look for these signs:

• Windows: open Control Panel and set View by to Small icons. The Flash Player icon should no longer be listed.
• Windows: Flash Player should no longer appear in your list of installed programs.
• Mac: the Flash Player item should no longer appear in System Preferences.

There is no supported way to undo the removal. Adobe has taken down its Flash Player downloads, so the uninstall should be treated as permanent.

How the Automatic Update Setting Used to Work

This section is for reference only, in case you still see the old settings window on a computer that has not been cleaned up. Changing the setting today does not deliver any updates.

On Windows 7 with Flash Player 18, the setting was in the Flash Player Settings Manager. The path was Start > Control Panel > View by: Small icons > Flash Player > Updates > Change Update Settings, followed by Yes on the User Account Control prompt. You then selected Allow Adobe to install updates.

An Adobe staff post in the now read-only Flash Player community explained how the feature behaved. Starting with Flash Player 11.2 on Windows and 11.3 on Mac, a background service checked Adobe’s servers once every 24 hours and installed security and bug fix updates without asking. Major releases showed an update window first. In those earlier versions the option was labeled Install updates automatically when possible (recommended) and sat on the Advanced tab.

Troubleshooting

A website or pop-up says Flash Player needs an update

Do not download it. Adobe no longer releases Flash Player updates, so any new “update” offer is not coming from Adobe. Adobe warns that unauthorized Flash Player downloads are a common source of malware and viruses. Close the tab or window instead of clicking the prompt.

You keep seeing reminders to uninstall Flash Player

Adobe says some users may continue to see reminders from Adobe to uninstall Flash Player. Click Uninstall when Adobe prompts you, or follow the manual steps above. The reminders should have nothing left to refer to once Flash Player has been removed.

The uninstaller does not finish

Something that uses Flash is probably still open. Close every browser, check the system tray on Windows for background programs, and run the uninstaller again. Restart the computer first if you are not sure what is still running.

The Flash Player icon is still in Control Panel

Restart the computer and look again. If the icon remains, a manually installed copy may still be present, so run Adobe’s uninstaller. If you only applied Microsoft’s KB4577586 update, remember that it removes just the copy that came with Windows.

The update options are grayed out

In the old Settings Manager, the update choices stayed locked until you clicked Change Update Settings and approved the User Account Control prompt. That no longer matters, because no choice on that screen can download an update now.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it safe to leave Flash Player installed?

Adobe recommends against it. Flash Player may remain on your system unless you uninstall it, and Adobe will not issue security patches for it. Adobe states that uninstalling Flash Player helps secure your system.

Can I still download Flash Player from Adobe?

No. Adobe has removed the Flash Player download pages from its site and says it will not make previous versions available. Adobe also says you should not use copies offered on third-party websites.

What should I do about a site or file that still needs Flash?

Flash content is blocked from running in Flash Player, so reinstalling it will not bring that content back. Ask the site owner or software maker whether a newer version exists. Adobe names HTML5, WebGL, and WebAssembly as the open standards that replaced Flash.

Do Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari still update Flash on their own?

No. Adobe says the major browser makers have disabled Flash Player, and it names Safari 14 as a version that no longer loads it. What you can do is keep the browser itself current, since modern browsers play video and animation without a plug-in. See how to update Microsoft Edge to the latest version for one example.

Will uninstalling Flash Player break anything?

Because Adobe has blocked Flash content from running since January 12, 2021, removing Flash Player should not take away anything that still worked. Other Adobe programs, such as Acrobat, are separate products and are not removed by the Flash Player uninstaller.

Next Step

Run Adobe’s uninstaller, restart, and ignore any future prompt that offers a Flash Player update. If you are reviewing update settings for other software, you may also want to read about how automatic updates work in Firefox.