Facebook lets videos on smartphones automatically play with sound

Facebook will automatically play videos on the social network with sound on smartphones, provided it is not set to silent. The sound will slowly increase in volume from the moment the movie starts automatically. Users can disable the option.

Facebook says it has tested the function and states that users appreciate the automatic playback with sound. That is why from now on more and more users will see videos that automatically start playing with sound. In addition, Facebook will now allow vertical videos to be played in full screen and thumbnails will be shown when scrolling through videos.

According to Facebook, people expect when they use their smartphone that sound can be heard when the sound of their device is on. If a phone is on silent, the videos will not automatically play the sound. In the announcement, Facebook does not specifically say that it only concerns videos that are viewed with smartphones, but on the help page that explains how to turn off the function, it states that it does not apply to the desktop version.

Facebook also announced that a video app for TVs, with which videos from friends and pages and popular live images can be viewed. The app should be available soon through the Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung Smart TV app stores. More platforms will follow later, but which and when is not yet known.