How to Uninstall Adobe Flash Player Completely from Windows?

Can’t uninstall Adobe Flash Player from your Windows PC because it is running in the background even if you have closed everything? Why is it so hard to remove and disable Adobe Flash Player? Adobe Flash Player was one of the most widely used browser plugins on the internet. It can be used to play videos, games, and other interactive content. However, Adobe Flash Player has become much less popular in recent years and Adobe even announced plans to stop supporting Flash in 2020. Years ago, Adobe confirmed that they have a major security vulnerability related to Flash Player that can let annoying ads, backdoor malware installation, and data collection find their ways onto many PCs, so many people decide to uninstall Adobe Flash Player. But unfortunately they may only get frustrations because Adobe Flash Player is stubborn and it won’t uninstall sometimes. For a few people who reported they had unexpected errors while using Adobe Flash Player, they also had the same problem in removing Adobe Flash Player on their Windows PC. In this article, I’m going to show you how to uninstall Adobe Flash Player and its leftovers step by step. Note: two methods are introduced in case the first one doesn’t work out.

About Adobe Flash Player:

Flash Player was originally created by Macromedia, but is now developed and distributed by Adobe Systems Inc. Adobe Flash Player was one of the formative technologies of the early internet. It allows users to see certain types of digital content, such as, watching video, listening to audio or playing games because most videos and animations were designed in Flash, and required users to install Flash Player in order to get the most out of the web. However, since Flash is now being replaced by some newer, more secure and more capable technologies such as HTML5 and CSS3, and Adobe has announced that it will no longer support Adobe Flash by the end of 2020, Adobe Flash Player is no longer needed. Many browsers even have already cut it off and most developers have made the switch to the HTML standard, eliminating the need for Adobe Flash Player updates to enjoy online multimedia content. On the other hand, flash became notoriously known as the entry point for many a security breach and recognized as a security nightmare. If you want to abandon Adobe Flash Player and don’t know where to get started, then this post walks you through the process of disabling and uninstalling Adobe Flash Player from Windows 10 completely.

Adobe Flash Player Removal:

Uninstalling Adobe Flash Player is supposed to be a fairly simple process. Go to the Control Panel, select Adobe Flash Player, hit Uninstall option and that’s all. But let’s face it, the built-in Windows uninstaller is really basic and it can’t uninstall Adobe Flash Player completely. It can leave several leftovers like the empty registry keys, folders in your C drive, program data, application shortcuts to take up your system resources. And in some cases, you may meet the following problems during the uninstallation process:

  • Can’t find Adobe Flash Player in the Add/Remove Programs tool in Control Panel.
  • Adobe Flash Player is still running and it won’t let you uninstall it even though you have closed everything.
  • No Uninstall Option given in Windows Control Panel Add/Remove Program.
  • Uninstall Option is greyed out in software center.
  • Adobe Flash Player is removed but it leaves leftovers that decrease your PC performance.

So, if you are serious about completely uninstalling Adobe Flash Player on your Windows PC, you need to manually delete all its associated files and registry entries. Don’t let the residual files related to Adobe Flash Player stay on your PC taking up unnecessary space.

Uninstall Adobe Flash Player Manually: (Experienced Users Only)

Before you get started, please exit your browser and other programs that still use Adobe Flash Player. You can check the task manager or look at the icons in the task bar and system tray for programs that run in the background. The uninstaller does not work if any programs that use Flash are running on your computer.

  • Click Start menu, then select Settings > Apps > Apps & features. Select Adobe Flash Player and then click on “Uninstall” option.

  • Or you can uninstall it from your Control Panel. To do this, you can click on Start Menu -> Windows System folder -> Control Panel -> Go to Programs and Features (if your Control Panel is in Category view, go to Uninstall a Program).

  • Follow the instruction to complete Adobe Flash Player Removal & Delete Adobe Flash Player associated folders, files and registry entries manually:

Click Start, then click on Run, search for Adobe Flash Player remaining files and folders from the below locations, then delete them:

  • %temp%
  • %appdata%\Adobe\Flash Player
  • %appdata%\Macromedia\Flash Player

Next, you have to delete Adobe Flash Player entries from Windows registry. Click Start, then click on Run and type regedit in the Open field. Then press enter on your keyboard.

Navigate to the Registry key:

  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node (64-bit system users will also need to check this extra key)

If you can find any keys with the name of Adobe Flash Player, just delete such keys.

Warning: Adobe Flash Player manual removal guide requires expertise. Although you can use Registry Editor to inspect and modify the registry, doing so is not recommended, as making incorrect changes can damage your system. If you have experienced in editing the Registry hundreds of times over the years, then you can try this way by yourself. Remember to backup all your important files and documents. You can do that by saving your essential data on the external source such as DVD/CDs, free cloud storage services, USB sticks or external drives in case you delete any wrong files that may cause system crash. For people who have no experience and looking for an easier alternative, it is recommended to use a third party uninstaller that gets rid of Adobe Flash Player and its leftovers with only a few clicks.

Uninstall Adobe Flash Player Using Uninstallor (Recommended)

Uninstallor is a powerful uninstaller that removes unwanted programs and traces easily. With it, you don’t have to figure out what files to remove or what boxes to check, all you need to do is specify the program you don’t want and hit “Uninstall”, then Uninstallor will take care of everything. Uninstallor is helpful when programs don’t uninstall properly. It works amazingly well and has saved people tons of time handling complex tasks such as freeing up disk space, cleaning third-party apps, finding large old items, and more. Wipe every trace of unwanted programs with Uninstallor. No more leftover files lingering around!

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Posted on October 9, 2019 uninstalledly editor