Chrome will automatically block annoying autoplay videos

Days of frustratingly loud autoplay ads are numbered – Google to block autoplay videos that annoyed us every time we visited small or popular websites.

Are you also annoyed of the auto playback videos that obliterate our eardrums while we surf the net with their insanely loud sound? Isn’t it truly frustrating when all you need is a few moments of peace to check out a website or reply to some emails? Well, thankfully Google has heard the pleas of internet users like us and has decided to put this abhorrent service of auto playback of adverts and promotional content to an end.

Reportedly, in its forthcoming Chrome update to be released in January 2018, Google will be blocking auto playback feature for all those ads that have sound.

According to the official blog post, Google has stated that:

“Starting in Chrome 64, autoplay will be allowed when either the media won’t play sound, or the user has indicated an interest in the media.”
In case you are confused about how will you indicate interest to Google, let us explain it to you. Google Chrome will autoplay videos on two occasions; when you add a web page on your cell phone’s home screen and whenever you use Chrome’s desktop browser to play media files from a website. Other than that, Chrome will keep the autoplay videos muted and paused until you manually click on Play button and will allow only soundless ads.

The update will be applied to both desktop and mobile versions of Chrome while it will be available in the upcoming version of Google Chrome, Chrome 64. It is worth noting that users of Chrome version 63 will be given an option to fully disable audio for certain websites from October 2017 onwards.

Back in June, Apple also announced a similar feature for its Safari browser that will be activated from 25 September, at the time when MacOS High Sierra will be launched. So it seems that firms like Google and Apple are now trying to rid users off the crappy ads including sticky banners, prestitials with a countdown, pop-ups and autoplay videos in order to maintain decent browsing experience. Google has also promised its users to keep churning out new features to ensure that annoying content is prevented from ruining our browsing experience.

Another good news is that from December 2017, Chrome 63 will start sending security notification to users in case they are under malware or man in the middle (MITM) attack.