Flash Confusion

[TM54]

When I try to use the Flash Manager to uninstall Flash from my Mac Book, I'm asked if I will authorize a helper tool download. What is this and is it safe?

I'm getting all sorts of conflcting info about how to do the uninstall.

HelP!!!

[Nancy OShea]

Flash Player is a browser add-on. 

• Consult your browser's documentation about removing add-ons.
• Consult your operating system's documentation about removing unwanted software.

[_maria_]

Yes, this is safe.  For more information on the Helper Tool, see the correct answer at https://community.adobe.com/t5/flash-player/quot-new-helper-tool-quot/td-p/10127406?page=1

[jeromie_adobe · Accepted solution]

Thanks for asking!  I definitely saw a lot of poorly researched reporting with questionable advice over the holidays.  We have a PR team that would have been happy to provide good instructions to any reporter that asked, and they're documented ad nauseum in these forums and in public-facing documentation already.  Always better to go the authoritative source when you can.

For macOS: 

For copies of Flash Player distributed by Adobe, run our uninstaller: 

https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-mac-os.html

Google also bundles a copy of Flash Player with Google Chrome.  A future Chrome update will remove it, and Flash is disabled by default.  You don't really need to do anything but leave automatic updates enabled in Chrome. 

For Windows: 

Here's the easy answer: 

For copies of Flash Player distributed directly by Adobe, you can run our uninstaller: 

Uninstall Flash Player - Windows:
https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html

For copies of Flash Player distributed by Microsoft (the built-in copy on Windows 8 and higher for IE and Edge), you can install this optional Windows Update.  

Microsoft Update for Removal of Flash Player

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4577586/update-for-removal-of-adobe-flash-player 

At some point in the future, Microsoft will make that update mandatory.  If you do nothing and have Windows Updates enabled, Microsoft will automatically remove Flash Player from your system at the point that they mark that update as mandatory.

For copies of Flash Player distributed by Google (as a built-in component of Chrome), a future update of Chrome will remove Flash Player support and the bundled copies of Flash Player.  

Hope that helps!