Adobe lets browsers kill Flash cookies

Flash 10.3 has arrived, bringing with it the ability to delete so-called super cookies directly from the browser.

Adobe's Flash uses local shared objects (LSOs) to remember site preferences, in much the same way cookies work in browsers.

However, the data held by LSOs - also dubbed Flash cookies or super cookies - can be used to regenerate deleted browser cookies, raising privacy concerns.

Flash 10.3 makes use of an API called ClearSiteData that lets users delete LSOs directly via their browser in the same way they delete standard cookies.

"Flash Player 10.3 enables local storage clearing within browsers’ privacy settings and streamlines the controls of the Flash Player privacy, security and storage settings within the local control panel of desktop OSes," Adobe said in a blog post.

Cookies are increasingly becoming a privacy concern, with the EU mandating that websites must ask for consent before dropping non-essential cookies onto users' machines.

Flash 10.3 can be downloaded here.

(Writing by Nicole Kobie)