The flashbang is essentially composed of a pyrotechnic metal oxidant-mix of magnesium or aluminium, and an oxidiser such as potassium perchlorate.

In all games, the flashbang explodes on a timed fuse. A bright flash of light will be released when the device explodes, blinding all players with a clear sight to it, including teammates (regardless if the option "friendly fire" is enabled or disabled), obscuring their entire screen with white for a short moment, before fading out again. In Global Offensive, the fade out process will also show a frozen afterimage of the player's last view before getting flashed.

After Counter-Strike: Source, the flashbang will release a deafening bang in addition to the bright flash, hampering the hearing of all affected teammates. In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, teammates who are near the explosion but do not have a view of the flashbang, or are at a very long distance away from the flashbang but still has direct view to the explosion will still be blinded and deafened, albeit for a a very short moment. Note that it is possible to blind teammates when a flashbang explodes in smoke.

The length of the fade-out varies depending on the angle the explosion from the teammate's crosshair and the distance of the explosion from the teammate. The maximum blinding effects are applied when the explosion happens right beside the teammate and within the teammate's view in a 16:9 aspect ratio, or below roughly 53 degrees away from the crosshair (in any direction). The effects of the flashbang is not affected by the teammate's monitor aspect ratio.

flashbang out