Apple Announced Way Back it Will Kill Autoplay Video and, Gadzooks, Google is Doing it Too

Image: Google


Google says this is one of the most frequent concerns from users: unexpected playback. From Chrome 64, auto video playback will only be allowed if sound isn’t played or if the user has shown interest in the clip. Google says videos will only auto play if the user has clicked or tapped somewhere on the site during the browsing session, if the site has been added to the home screen (on mobile), or if the user has frequently played media on the site (on desktop).

The Verge: Chrome will get better at stopping those annoying autoplay videos starting in January


Apple is releasing MacOS High Sierra in days and its implementation but both come to the same result of killing those infuriating videos such that they will only play at our request rather than that of the Web site.  This is the most advert-hostile browser campaign I've ever seen and that should give some idea of the anger toward this abusive method of advertising.  CNN has notoriously been the worst for that but Fox News is tottering along behind them along with multiple others.


Google noted that Chrome 63 will also add a new option to completely mute individual sites. The disabling would continue between browsing sessions. Google says the autoplay policies will roll out in January 2018. It’s also previously indicated it will introduce an in-built ad blocker for Chrome next year in more efforts to put a stop to annoying, unwanted content.

- Verge

There's no slowpoke aspect to this when Apple makes the High Sierra release in September and Google follows in January with this one.  It seems reasonably predictable Firefox will implement this as well since they certainly get the same complaints about the abuse.


These could be glory days for computers, mates, since the abusiveness of advertising has continued getting steadily worse for years.  The browsers seem to be going to open war with the sites which perpetrate the rubbish and CNN as the representative worst doesn't have many options to fight back to preserve its autoplay capability.

Likely the only counter for CNN is to write its own browser but what point when it's not likely anyone would trust it any more than people would trust a browser developed by Fox News either.  CNN and Fox have been perennially begging for money but it's only to pay for swanky studios for their wannabe starlets and why should we do that when only Ted Nugent wants to hear them anyway.

Zen Yogi:  naked?

So he says, Yogi.

Zen Yogi:  do you believe him?

Nah since he gives no reason to believe him in any of the other inane video clips about him.  Nugent will likely also be a casualty in the autoplay video wars ... and ain't that a shame.