Google wants to make HTML5 the primary experience in Chrome by the fourth quarter of 2016. There will be an exclusion only for a white-list of 10 websites which will run Adobe’s Flash Player.
The plan, which Google reported, is named “HTML5 by Default”. Under this plan, the Chrome browser will continue to ship with Adobe’s Flash Player, however, its presence will not be advertised by default.
In case a website offers HTML5, it will be the default experience. Regarding the websites which need Flash, there will be a prompt that will show up at the top of the page when the user first enters the website.
The above-mentioned prompt, will offer users the option of running or declining to run Flash on the website.
“If the user accepts, Chrome will advertise the presence of Flash Player and refresh the page,” Google stated.
Although Google is still working on the options for future prompts, nn subsequent visits to the domain, the user’s initial choice is likely to hold good. Once critical for rich media on the Web, Flash has been sidelined by HTML5, which has emerged as a serious competitor with Google and other players backing it.
According to Google, HTML5 provides a more integrated media experience with faster load times and lower power consumption.
Earlier this year, they said that it would block the upload of display ads built in Flash from June 30 in AdWords and DoubleClick Digital Marketing, besides taking other measures to reduce the role of the player. Besides, the Flash Player’s track record for vulnerabilities has not been good, exposing users to a variety of threats.
Last November, Adobe Systems said that the they would offer tools for developing HTML5 content, while continuing to support Flash content, as “open standards like HTML5 have matured and provide many of the capabilities that Flash ushered in.”
“While standards like HTML5 will be the Web platform of the future across all devices, Flash continues to be used in key categories like Web gaming and premium video, where new standards are yet to fully mature”, they added.
Chrome will initially ship with a white-list of the top 10 sites using Flash, sorted by aggregate usage of a specific domain. This will include sites like YouTube.com, Facebook.com, Amazon.com, and Mail.ru.
The white list will continue for one year and it will be periodically updated in order to remove websites whose usage does not require the special treatment anymore.
