Uninstall Flash for Mac OS X in Seven Easy Steps [How To]

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Here’s a simple how to that will lead you and your computer to an internet without Flash just like on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. I think most of you won’t miss it, but if you do you can reinstall it.

I’ll have to say that when I went cold turkey and kicked the Flash habit, that I’ve had for years, I didn’t suffer from withdrawals.  In fact, I found my browsing experience with Safari to be a whole lot better and definitely more stable than before. I don’t have any regrets about it so far.

Some people might recommend, ClickToFlash, which is a Safari plug-in that blocks flash content and doesn’t allow it to run unless you allow it or you add specific sites to a “white list. ” It’s a great plug-in, but I prefer to use fewer plug-ins and no Flash. You on the other hand might think otherwise so ClickToFlash might worth a look for you.

I wrote this How To after hearing about the possibility that Adobe Flash can reduce battery life on my 13-inch MacBook Air — something others have already experienced and I think I have too. I encountered reduced battery life on my MacBook Air after installing Flash earlier this week. Apple didn’t pre-install Flash on this Mac like it had on all the others before it and reduced battery life is a good reason not too.

Level of Difficulty:

Easy; Beginner

What you need:

  • Your Mac running Mac OS X 10.4 or higher
  • Access to an account that has administrative rights

Uninstalling Adobe Flash Player

Step 1: Close all running applications especially any web browsers (i.e. Safari, FireFox, etc.).

Step 2: Download Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller using this link: uninstall_flash_player_osx.dmg (238 KB)

Step 3: Mount the Adobe Uninstaller image you downloaded in Step 2 by double-clicking the uninstall_flash_player_osx.dmg file you downloaded. It will open displaying an icon for the uninstaller.

Step 4: Double-click the Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller icon. The uninstaller will run.

Step 5: Click Uninstall.

Step 6: Enter your Mac’s administrator name and password and click Ok.

Step 7: Click Done.

All Done!

That’s it. The Adobe Flash Player will play no more.

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