On some level it’s admirable that Adobe is finally getting around to improving the control interface for how Flash stores local information, which has been abused in some cases to enable illicit user tracking. Adobe’s failure to make any progress on their privacy experience has truly been inexplicable, particularly when it would have been easy enough for them to offer and support browser add-ons that provided this functionality, rather than leave that to volunteers.
But you have to wonder how much it really matters now, since it seems like new browser functionality, like tracking protection lists to be included in Internet Explorer 9, make Flash-specific controls a lot less relevant for privacy-concerned users. That’s because those controls can block access by tracking companies at the most basic level, meaning that they can’t use any means — browser cookie, html5 local storage or Flash cookies — for tracking. This will be a great experience for users, since they won’t need to program any separate tracking preferences for Flash.
If other browsers follow Microsoft’s lead, then Adobe’s failure won’t matter much in the long run. Unfortunately Adobe has lost the opportunity to be perceived as a leader when it comes to privacy and choice, which is something that may well matter as they extend further into tracking with their Omniture subsidiary.