Moreover, since new Firefox platforms do not have to support an existing ecosystem of users and plugins, new platforms such as 64-bit Firefox for Windows will launch without plugin support.īecause Adobe Flash is still a common part of the Web experience for most users, we will continue to support Flash within Firefox as an exception to the general plugin policy. This decision mirrors actions by other modern browsers, such as Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge, which have already removed support for legacy plugins. Firefox began this process several years ago with manual plugin activation, allowing users to activate plugins only when they were necessary. Mozilla intends to remove support for most NPAPI plugins in Firefox by the end of 2016. Plugins are a source of performance problems, crashes, and security incidents for Web users. As browsers and the Web have grown, NPAPI has shown its age. Features such as clipboard access which used to require plugins are now available via native Web APIs. Mozilla continues to prioritize features that will make it possible for sites to switch away from plugins. Streaming video, advanced graphics, and gaming features have all become native Web APIs in the past few years. Mozilla has been steadily improving the Web platform to support features that were once only available via NPAPI plugins.