Search giant Google Inc. GOOGL has announced that come September its Chrome web browser will automatically pause many Flash ads.
The change was first implemented in June as a part of Chrome’s latest beta release and is aimed at improving user experience.
The new feature will improve the browser’s battery life by reducing the amount of Flash content the browser plays automatically. The browser will consider stuff like the main video on the page and presumably, flash-based ads and pause content not central to the user’s experience.
The feature however will not block Flash elements entirely. Rather, it will “intelligently” pause these ads, offering users the option to click or hit a "play" button if they want to see the ad. So if the browser pauses something a user is actually interested in, they can just click to resume playback.
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.
Also, it will save the systems from security vulnerabilities inherent in Flash that are regularly targeted by hackers, affecting both Windows and Mac users.
The move will boost user experience by offering them uninterrupted and safe browsing. However, this is not good news for advertisers as they might have to see their ads being stopped on Chrome.
But Google has a solution for this a swell. It is offering tools for advertisers that use Google's AdWords platform to upload their ads. Their ads can be converted to HTML5, so they will still play. It is offering three ways in which the ads can be translated- enable AdWords to automatically translate the Flash ads, create new HTML5 ads with the tools, or upload a new HTML5 ad from a third-party server.
Also Google advises others using Flash to switch to HTML5, as the entire online industry is moving towards it. HTML5 is faster and works on just about everything with a web browser and also causes less damage to battery life.
Google’s revenues are majorly dependent on ads, and most of them are still delivered in Flash. But the move is an essential one and is part of a broader effort to discard the malicious and slow technology.
Google holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Investors interested in the technology space can consider Amazon.com Inc. AMZN and Manhattan Associates, Inc. MANH, both sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
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