To counter the abusive use of autoplay videos on websites, Microsoft is preparing a blocking option in Edge. A function already available in other browsers with the notable exception of Chrome.
Many websites now integrate videos into their pages: a way to offer more visual and dynamic content, in addition to text. Only if the intention is good, the practice can quickly become annoying, because most of the videos thus integrated launch automatically, either as soon as they arrive on the page, or a few moments later. You then have to rush to the player to pause the playback or just mute the sound. The worst is when the video suddenly launches, after the fact, with its thunderous soundtrack, in a lost tab among dozens of others, while consulting another page or working in a software. There, you have to act quickly to find the right tab and cut everything hastily (read our practical sheet to find out how to mute the sound of a tab in a browser). And as autoplay – autoplay, in English – is increasingly used, especially on influencer blogs and commercial sites, browsing the Web can quickly become quite painful.
Autoplay videos: soon a blocking option in Edge
To combat this practice, Microsoft is preparing to equip its Edge browser with a function to systematically block the automatic playback of audio and video content. An option currently being tested in the version circulating in the Canary channel, for developers and the curious. The publisher says nothing about its integration into a final version, but we. can expect it to be available soon.
Edge already has a menu in the Cookies and site permissions settings to achieve this, but it remains a bit confusing giving access to two choices: Allow or Limit. The second option allows, in theory, to automatically cut the playback of videos if, during your previous visits to the site, you have manually interrupted it. But as we have seen, it does not work every time. However, you can turn to the hidden browser settings to activate stricter blocking (see below). You will have to wait for a next Edge update to take advantage of this option more easily.
Edge is not the only one to offer this option. It also exists in Firefox or Safari settings, but it’s really not highlighted. Chrome still escapes it. Google having backtracked by offering it a few years ago before reversing its decision and simply removing it from its browser. It must be said that the American giant derives a large part of its income from advertising, to which videos contribute a large part. Fortunately, it is always possible to add a free extension to stem the phenomenon.
If you are annoyed by the automatic playback of videos, here are the manipulations to be carried out now in your web browser.
Edge has an option to block web videos from autoplaying. However, it takes a few manipulations to implement it.
► Open Edge, then paste the following address in the address bar and press the key Entrance to validate and access the hidden options of the browser.
edge://flags/#edge-autoplay-user-setting-block-option
► To section Show Block option in autoplay settingchoose the option Enable, then click the button To restart at the bottom right of the window to restart the browser.
► Now go to Edge settings by clicking on the ellipsis at the top right of the window. Click on Cookies and site permissions in the left column. In the middle part of the window, click Media autoplay.
► In the new page that appears, in the section Control whether audio and video autoplay on siteschoose the option To block and refresh the page for the setting to take effect.
The Mozilla Foundation Browser comes standard with an option to block audio and video content from auto-playing on the web. It is very easy to activate.
► Open Firefox and go to browser settings by clicking on the three superimposed lines at the top right of the window. Click in the left column on Privacy and Security. Scroll down the content in the center of the window to the section Permissions. Click on the button Settings of the option Autoplay.
► In the window that appears, click on the drop-down menu Default for all websites and choose Block audio and video. Click on the button Save Changes.
Chrome no longer offers an option to prevent videos from autoplaying. But you can block it with an extension that specializes in it.
► Open Chrome, then download and install the free extension AutoplayStopper from the Chrome Web Store.
► This extension does not need any setting. As soon as it is installed, it is functional and blocks the automatic playback of videos.
Safari, Apple’s web browser, already has an option to not automatically start playing videos.
► Open Safari, then press the keyboard shortcut cmd + , or click on the menu File > Preferences to access browser settings.
► Then click on the tab Web sites then, in the left column, choose Autoplay.
► Click on the drop-down menu When accessing other websitesat the bottom of the window, and choose Never allow autoplay.
► Close the Preferences window: the setting is immediately taken into account.