It has been a tough few years for Flash, as the plug-in software has been discarded for video playback on all the major browsers, citing lack of security as the determining factor. Now Google has taken its Flash purge even further, stating that it will be phasing out Flash-based ads from its platforms - Google Display Network and DoubleClick Digital Marketing.

The phasing out process is set to begin on 30 June, with the ability to upload Flash ads ending in their entirety on 2 January 2017. This does, however, come with a proviso, as Google says only static Flash ads will no longer be supported on its platforms, but video-based versions will still be permitted.

As for whether that will change in future, remains to be seen.