Flash, also known as Adobe Flash or Macromedia Flash, was a multimedia software platform used for creating animations, rich internet applications (RIAs), desktop applications, mobile apps, mobile games, and embedded web browser video players. It relied on vector graphics and raster graphics to provide animations of text, drawings, and still images. Once ubiquitous on the web, Flash was eventually phased out due to security vulnerabilities, performance issues, and the rise of open web standards like HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript, which offered similar functionality with improved security and efficiency. Adobe officially ended support for Flash in December 2020.
