Chrome will stop playing videos with sound from January 2018

Google has announced that Chrome will no longer allow autoplay of videos with sound from January 2018 in version 64. Such content will only play automatically if the videos contain no sound or if the user has shown an interest in the media.

This functionality will be available for both the mobile app and the desktop. However, the autoplay functionality will remain for the content of a website if users have added this specific website to their phone’s home screen or if they click or press anywhere on the website. For desktop users, autoplay will also continue to be available for those websites where the user has seen more media.

Google has been working for some time to give users more control over the sounds that websites play while surfing. Google developer François Beaufort reported in late August that the company is working on a new feature within Chrome that will allow users to mute entire websites. This is already possible for individual tabs, but the difference is that this way of muting is not permanent. This option will be available in Chrome 63.

As of early 2018, Chrome users will also be able to block certain ads. From that moment on, Chrome will no longer show advertisements that do not meet the Better Ads standards. These standards describe, among other things, that pop-ups, advertisements with video with sound, and banners that occupy the entire screen are not desirable.