Disable Video Autoplay in Chrome, Firefox, and Edge

Auto-playing videos on websites can be a real nuisance, consuming valuable data and slowing down your internet connection. This is an even bigger problem when videos are playing in the background, especially on sites that automatically play videos repeatedly without permission. If you are tired of websites following this practice, today we will show you how to disable autoplay videos in your web browser (Google Chrome, Firefox and Microsoft Edge). This guide will help you get out of one of the biggest frustrations on the Internet.

Disable Videos Autoplay in Your Web Browser (Updated April 2021)

This tutorial will show you how to disable autoplay videos in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Edge on desktop and mobile devices. So, without further ado, let’s get started.

Stop Autoplaying Videos in Google Chrome

Google Chrome does not provide a built-in method to disable autoplay videos. You can mute autoplay videos simply by going to: Settings -> Site Settings -> Additional Content Settings -> Audio, but this option mutes all videos globally (on all websites), which breaks media functionality on all websites, including YouTube and Twitch. So, to disable autoplay videos in Chrome on desktop, you have to use a third-party extension.

• Windows and Mac

There are several third-party extensions that can successfully block autoplay videos in Chrome to varying degrees. Best Chrome extension to disable autoplay videos in 2021 Autoplay StopperIt works as advertised on all the sites I’ve checked, including YouTube, CNN, and CNET. It also allows you to improve your privacy and security. Disable ‘Flash detection for websites’ Now that Flash has reached the end of its life and has completely replaced HTML5. Meanwhile, you should also check how to remove Flash from your computer.

Unlike other similar extensions, Autoplay Stopper is regularly updated with the latest version released in March 2021. In fact, the extension has seen at least four updates this year, so you can be sure websites will make any changes on the server side. Bypassing autoplay blockers will be handled quickly by the developer.

Add Autoplay Stopper to Google Chrome (free)

• Android and iOS

Just like on desktop computers, on mobile devices, Google Chrome no longer blocks autoplay videos. You could once block autoplay media in Chrome for Android, but this feature has since been deprecated. You can still mute videos in Google Chrome for Android (Settings -> Site Settings -> Audio), but again, it will mute all videos on all websites every time.

Unlike Firefox for Android, which supports several popular add-ons, Chrome for Android does not offer support for extensions. This means that as of April 2021, there is no way to block autoplay media in Chrome on mobile devices, including Android, iOS, and iPadOS.

Stop Autoplaying Videos in Mozilla Firefox

Unlike Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox offers built-in options to disable autoplay media on both desktops and mobile devices.

• Windows 10

Here’s how to disable autoplay videos in Firefox on Windows 10:

1. Open Mozilla Firefox on your computer and hamburger menu in the upper right corner. choose now ‘Options’ from the drop-down menu.

2. Select in the Options window. Privacy and security from the left sidebar. Under ‘Permissions’ click on the partition in the right pane ‘Settings…’ Next to autoplay.

3. In the popup window, click the dropdown next to ‘Default for all websites’ and ‘Block Audio and Video’. Make sure to save your changes using the blue. ‘Save Changes’ button at the bottom.

4. When Firefox blocks media from a website (for example, YouTube), you will see a special icon. [1] in the address bar. Click this icon to open the Site Information drop-down panel where you can Select ‘Allow Audio and Video’ From the dropdown next to ‘Autoplay’ to whitelist the site. This means that the videos will play automatically the next time you visit the website, unless you manually remove the site from your whitelist.

5. For more extensive autoplay blocking options in Firefox, you’ll need to tweak a few settings in about:config. To do this, type about:config in the Firefox address bar and press Enter. Click ‘ to dismiss the alert and access advanced settings.Accept the Risk and Continue‘.

6. On the about:config page, search for: media.autoplay using the dedicated search bar at the top. Now change the following options:

media.autoplay.default = 5 [0=allow, 1=block audible, 2=prompt, 5=block all]
media.autoplay.blocking_policy = 2
media.autoplay.allow-extension-background-pages = false
media.autoplay.block-event.enabled = true

This should stop all autoplay videos globally on all websites in Mozilla Firefox on your Windows 10 or macOS computer.

• Android

Like its desktop counterpart, on mobile, Firefox offers a built-in option to disable autoplay videos on websites. You can access the feature by:

1. Open Firefox on your Android phone and three dot menu in the upper right corner. Choose from the drop-down menu Settings.

2. On the Settings page, select ‘Site permissions’ and then ‘Autoplay’ option on the next page.

3. Finally, “Block audio and video” as we do in the desktop browser.

Stop Autoplaying Videos in Microsoft Edge

Microsoft has ended support for Edge Legacy. The latest version of Microsoft Edge is based on Chromium, just like Google Chrome. However, unlike the latter, it offers a built-in option to disable autoplay media on both desktops and mobile devices. Here we will show you how to disable autoplay videos in Microsoft Edge on both Windows 10 and Android.

• Windows 10

By default, Microsoft Edge only allows you to ‘Limit’ autoplay on websites. However, you can use a Microsoft Edge flag to ‘Block’ all autoplay videos. Here’s how:

1. First, open Microsoft Edge on your computer. Type now edge://flags/ in the address bar and press Enter. Search for ‘autoplay’ on the border flags page. You should find a single entry: Show block option in autoplay settings. Use the dropdown next to it to change the value to ‘.activated‘. Restart your browser.

2. Write now edge://settings/content/mediaAutoplay in the address bar and press Enter. Here, “Control whether audio and video play automatically on sites” option. Use the drop-down menu to change the setting to ‘.Block’. The change will be saved automatically and videos will no longer autoplay on websites.

note: Without the first step, you will only find two options under Autoplay – ‘Allow’ and ‘Restrict’. The ‘Block’ option will only appear when you enable the ‘Show Block Option’ checkmark..

• Android

Here’s how to disable autoplay videos in Microsoft Edge on Android:

1. Open Microsoft Edge on your Android phone or tablet. tap on three dot menu at the bottom and select ‘Settings’ from the pop-up panel.

2. On the Settings page, tap . Site permissions. Scroll down on the next page and media.

3. On the Media settings page, ‘Autoplay’ option is enabled by default. To disable this option, tap on it and turn off the toggle on the next page.

This much. Now no media (audio or video) will automatically play on any website while surfing the web in Microsoft Edge for Android.

Regain Your Sanity by Stopping Autoplaying Videos in Your Web Browser

Auto-playing video and audio can be a real pain when surfing the web, so we hope our tutorial will help you get rid of this annoyance completely. Now that you know how to put an end to this annoyance while surfing the Internet, you should also take a look at how you can get rid of other annoyances. Learn how to disable notifications and remove all ads from the operating system on your Windows 10 computer. Meanwhile, if you’re worried about the lack of power user options and privacy-related complaints, check out Chrome alternatives on desktop and the best browsers for privacy on Android and iOS.