Missing Flash? Try These 3 Alternatives (That Still Work!)

PDF download Download Article
Play games or watch animations with these Flash replacements
PDF download Download Article

Due to security issues with Adobe Flash Player, Adobe ended support for Flash as of December 2020. Many sites are upgrading their Flash games and animations to HTML5, but not all sites have made the switch just yet. If you still want to play Flash games or use older sites that haven't yet upgraded to a more modern technology, we'll show you how to download alternatives to Adobe Flash Player.

Installing Adobe Flash Player: Alternatives

The best alternative to Flash is Ruffle. Ruffle can be installed as a browser plugin or as a standalone Flash player application. If you're looking to play old Flash games, try Flashpoint Archive. If you have downloaded .SWF files, you can also run them with the Adobe Flash Player projector content debugger.

Section 1 of 3:

Ruffle

PDF download Download Article
  1. Ruffle is an open-source Flash emulator you can use to play games and view other Flash content just like using Adobe Flash Player. [1] You can install Ruffle on your PC (Windows or Linux) or Mac and use it to open .SWF files on your computer, or try the browser extension that lets you use Flash on websites. It's a nearly seamless alternative, and you can download it from https://ruffle.rs/#releases .
    • To use Ruffle in your browser, you can install it via the Chrome Web Store (which works in Google Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers like Opera), the Firefox Add-Ons Store , or the Microsoft Edge Add-ons Store .
      • If you are using Safari on Mac, go to https://ruffle.rs/downloads and click the Safari button under "Browser Extension" for the newest version of Ruffle. Double-click the .TAR.GZ file that is downloaded to extract it, then double-click the .SAFARIEXTZ file to install the extension.
    • To use Ruffle as a standalone Flash player, download and install the desktop application for your operating system from https://ruffle.rs/downloads .
    2. Advertisement
Section 2 of 3:

Flashpoint Archive

PDF download Download Article
  1. Play old Flash games with Flashpoint Archive. Flashpoint Archive is a project that aims to preserve as many Flash games and animations as possible. Since 2017, they have archived over 170,000 games and over 30,000 animations. [2] While Flashpoint Archive won't make Flash work on websites, it can provide an alternative if you're looking to play an old Flash game or watch an old Flash animation.
    • Windows 8.1 and newer:
    • Mac: [3]
      • Open Terminal and run this command: curl -fo ~/Downloads/fp13_mac.tar.xz [4] .
      • Go to your Downloads folder. Press Ctrl and click the .XZ file, then choose Open With > Archive Utility .
      • Open the Flashpoint 13 for macOS folder and run the Flashpoint application.
    • Linux: If desired, you can run the Windows version of Flashpoint on a Windows virtual machine or through Wine. Otherwise, follow the steps below to install the Linux version of Flashpoint: [5]
      • Download this archive file and extract it to an empty directory that your user has read and write permissions for.
      • Open the directory you extracted the archive to, then run setup-desktop-entry.sh to add the launcher to your desktop.
      • Download this archive file to get Flashpoint's libraries.
      • Extract the archive to the Libraries directory in your Flashpoint install.
      • Re-run setup-desktop-entry.sh to generate a new desktop entry that will load the binaries and libraries you just extracted.
      • Download this archive file to get Flashpoint's Wine runtime.
      • Extract that archive file to FPSoftware > Wine . Flashpoint should use this Wine runtime, which has been optimized for Flashpoint, instead of the one already on your system.
Section 3 of 3:

Flash Projector Content Debugger

PDF download Download Article
  1. This developer testing program lets you open Flash files (in the .SWF format) in a standalone app, meaning you won't need to rely on a web browser. This is a great option if you have saved SWF files to your computer. To get the debugger:
    • Go to https://archive.org/details/flashplayer_32_sa_debug_2 . Adobe has removed the Projector Content Debugger from their website, but you can download it from the Internet Archive.
    • Double-click the downloaded file to install it.
    • You can now open a file in the newly installed Adobe Flash Player app by clicking File > Open , selecting the SWF file, and clicking Open .
    2. Advertisement

Community Q&A

Search
Add New Question
  • Question
    How do I download it on an Android?
    Community Answer
    Newer versions of Android can't use Flash. Evidently Adobe and Google can't come to an agreement, so the public suffers until they do.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 9 Helpful 22
  • Question
    Is the Adobe flash player safe for my computer?
    Community Answer
    If you see a lock on the website of Adobe, then it is safe and should be easy to download.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 17 Helpful 23
  • Question
    Where is the Download folder located?
    Community Answer
    If you're using Google Chrome, you can hit Ctrl-J to access downloaded files.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 12 Helpful 20
See more answers
Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
      Advertisement

      Video

      Tips

      Submit a Tip
      All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
      Name
      Please provide your name and last initial
      Submit
      Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

      Warnings

      • Adobe doesn't recommend using older browser versions that still support Flash, as this may lead to a security vulnerability. [6] If you still have Flash and are using an old version of your browser to keep using it, it's best to uninstall it and use one of the above alternatives.
        Thanks
        Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
      Advertisement

      You Might Also Like

      3 Simple Ways to Install Adobe Flash Player on Ubuntu
      How to
      Enable Flash on Chrome

      References

      1. ↑ https://ruffle.rs/#usage
      2. ↑ https://flashpointarchive.org
      3. ↑ https://flashpointarchive.org/datahub/Mac_Support
      4. ↑ https://download.unstable.life/upload/fp13_mac.tar.xz
      5. ↑ https://flashpointarchive.org/datahub/Linux_Support
      6. ↑ https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/end-of-life-alternative.html

      About This Article

      Article Summary X

      If there are still tools you need to use that haven't been updated to a more modern standard, you can use the Ruffle application and/or browser extension. Another option is to download Adobe's Flash Player projector content debugger, which is an app meant for Flash developers testing their work. A third option is to install a version of Google Chrome that still supports Flash, which is any version prior to Chrome 88, and then make some configuration changes that allow you to access specific Flash content by URL or IP address.

      Did this summary help you?
      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 514,702 times.

      Is this article up to date?

      Advertisement