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Google Chrome to Silence Annoying Auto-Play Videos

"No more 'Where's that sound coming from?' moments," Google's Francois Beaufort said.

By Angela Moscaritolo
August 27, 2015
18 Hidden Chrome Features You Really Should be Using

Ever open a site in a new browser tab expecting to check it out when you have a free minute? Of course you have.

How annoying is it when that site happens to have a video or ad on it that starts playing automatically? Now you have to stop what you're doing and go over to that tab just to shut up the dang video.

Fortunately, this shouldn't be an issue with Google Chrome anymore. The browser will now "defer playback of autoplay media" until you actually visit that tab, Google's Francois Beaufort announced Wednesday. At this point, the feature is only available in the latest Chrome Dev build, but will likely make its ways to the Stable version soon.

With this feature, Chrome will still pre-load the video, so it will be all set to go when you're ready, but the browser will delay the start of playback until you click on that tab.

"This means no more 'Where's that sound coming from?' moments when an ad for instance decides to autoplay in a tab you've specifically opened in the background," Beaufort wrote. On top of just quelling user annoyance, the feature actually conserves power since Chrome will now only consume power to play the video once the tab is in the foreground, he added.

Chrome already helps you find noisy tabs. Last year, a browser update added speaker icons to tabs that included sound. A red circle or blue rectangle are also on tabs that use your webcam (like Google Hangouts) or cast to your TV, respectively.

The move, meanwhile, comes after Twitter in June launched auto-play videos, meaning native videos, Vines, and even GIFs will begin playback automatically as you scroll past—much to the annoyance of some users. Vine, Instagram, and Facebook also begin playing videos as soon as they come into view.

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Facebook last year extended this function to ads, as did Instagram.

If you're not keen on this "feature," check out our article: How to Turn Off Autoplay Videos.

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About Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

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