Today marks the end of Flash ads on the Google Chrome browser.
The search giant, which recently created parent company Alphabet of which Google is a subsidiary, announced the browser will automatically pause many Flash ads.
Per an article on NASDAQ, the American Stock Exchange, by Zacks the change will not completely dismantle flash ads, rather it will pause them on sites, allowing the user to click play if they want to watch the ad.
The initiative is aimed at reducing power consumption and boosting battery life. Chrome has been accused of eating up a laptop’s battery, thereby driving users to alternatives like Mozilla or Apple’s AAPL Safari,” said Zacks.com.
While it may be a boon for users, it’s bad news for advertisers who could see their ad stopped.
However, Google has apparently though of this, offering advertising tools for brands to convert their ads to HTML5.
Google has had the change coming for a while to improve user experience, with the industry readying itself for the switch up.
Flash has been on a precipice of death for a number of years now, with Tom Sadler, sales and marketing director for Indago Digitial, believing it’s the final nail in the coffin for Flash.
The IAB has also said it’s implementing some new creative guidelines for HTML5.
