Google Chrome To Block Autoplay Videos With Sound Beginning In January

Google Chrome, America’s most popular web browser, is set to clamp down on irritating autoplay videos. In coming months, Chrome will only enable autoplay on websites when a piece of media either doesn’t have sound, or when a user has indicated interest in a site via prior activity.

Google announced the changes coming to forthcoming versions of Chrome in a blog post, stating that it hopes to quell complaints about the power and data that autoplay consumes, as well as the unwanted (and occasionally deafening) noises. Now, most autoplay videos with sound on Chrome will be paused until users press play — except on sites that users have added to their homescreens on mobile devices or visit with frequency on desktops, according to CNET. Autoplay will also be enabled if users have tapped or clicked elsewhere on a site during the browsing session.

“These changes will also unify desktop and mobile web behavior,” writes Google software engineer Mounir Lamouri

, “making web media development more predictable across platforms and browsers.” You can check out additional details about Chrome’s evolving autoplay policies right here.

Apple, for its part, announced a comparable feature for Safari in June, which is poised to go into effect on Sept. 25, according to CNET.

A muting option (pictured above) for Google Chrome will be available in Chrome 63 — which is currently in beta and is slated to roll out next month — that will let users completely disable audio for individual sites. Chrome 64, which will automatically block autoplaying videos with sound unless users have indicated otherwise, is pegged to launch in beta in December for a January 2018 release.