Policy
Turn off Adobe Flash in Internet Explorer and prevent applications from using Internet Explorer technology to instantiate Flash objects
Windows 11 25H2
Policy overview
Key metadata and intent for this policy.
Supported OS tags: Windows10, Windows10RT, Windows11, Windows8, Windows81, WindowsRT, WindowsRT81, WindowsServer2012, WindowsServer2012R2, WindowsServer2016
This policy setting turns off Adobe Flash in Internet Explorer and prevents applications from using Internet Explorer technology to instantiate Flash objects. If you enable this policy setting, Flash is turned off for Internet Explorer, and applications cannot use Internet Explorer technology to instantiate Flash objects. In the Manage Add-ons dialog box, the Flash status will be 'Disabled', and users cannot enable Flash. If you enable this policy setting, Internet Explorer will ignore settings made for Adobe Flash through the "Add-on List" and "Deny all add-ons unless specifically allowed in the Add-on List" policy settings. If you disable, or do not configure this policy setting, Flash is turned on for Internet Explorer, and applications can use Internet Explorer technology to instantiate Flash objects. Users can enable or disable Flash in the Manage Add-ons dialog box. Note that Adobe Flash can still be disabled through the "Add-on List" and "Deny all add-ons unless specifically allowed in the Add-on List" policy settings, even if this policy setting is disabled, or not configured. However, if Adobe Flash is disabled through the "Add-on List" and "Deny all add-ons unless specifically allowed in the Add-on List" policy settings and not through this policy setting, all applications that use Internet Explorer technology to instantiate Flash object can still do so. For more information, see "Group Policy Settings in Internet Explorer 10" in the Internet Explorer TechNet library.
Registry values
How enabled and disabled states update the registry.
| Registry location | Type | Enabled value | Disabled value |
|---|---|---|---|
| HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\DisableFlashInIE | REG_DWORD | 1 | 0 |
Policy elements
Inputs and configuration options exposed by this policy.
This policy has no additional user input fields.
Other policies in this category
Explore related policies at the same level.
- UserAdd-on ListAt least Internet Explorer 6.0 in Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1
- ComputerAdd-on ListAt least Internet Explorer 6.0 in Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1
- UserAll ProcessesAt least Internet Explorer 6.0 in Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1
- ComputerAll ProcessesAt least Internet Explorer 6.0 in Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1
- ComputerDeny all add-ons unless specifically allowed in the Add-on ListAt least Internet Explorer 6.0 in Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1
- UserDeny all add-ons unless specifically allowed in the Add-on ListAt least Internet Explorer 6.0 in Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1
- UserProcess ListAt least Internet Explorer 6.0 in Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1
- ComputerProcess ListAt least Internet Explorer 6.0 in Windows XP with Service Pack 2 or Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1
- UserRemove "Run this time" button for outdated ActiveX controls in Internet ExplorerAt least Internet Explorer 8.0
- ComputerRemove "Run this time" button for outdated ActiveX controls in Internet ExplorerAt least Internet Explorer 8.0
- ComputerTurn off Adobe Flash in Internet Explorer and prevent applications from using Internet Explorer technology to instantiate Flash objectsAt least Internet Explorer 10.0 on Windows 8
- UserTurn off automatic download of the ActiveX VersionListAt least Internet Explorer 8.0