Firefox will mute autoplaying video automatically

It won't stop videos from autoplaying, but your ears will catch a break by default with the release of Firefox 66 in March.

Claudia Cruz Reporter / CNET en Español

Claudia Cruz is a reporter for CNET en Español. Previously she served as the local editor and social media manager for Mountain View and Palo Alto, Patch.com. Prior to that, editor at El Correo de Queens and contributed as a staff reporter to The Queens Courier in New York City. She has a Masters degree from the City University of New York's (CUNY) Graduate School of Journalism in business and entrepreneurial journalism, and a Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. Claudia's a native New Yorker, daughter of Dominican parents. She loves baseball, yoga and tasting the abundant microbrews in California.

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Lori Grunin Senior Editor / Advice

I've been reviewing hardware and software, devising testing methodology and handed out buying advice for what seems like forever; I'm currently absorbed by computers and gaming hardware, but previously spent many years concentrating on cameras. I've also volunteered with a cat rescue for over 15 years doing adoptions, designing marketing materials, managing volunteers and, of course, photographing cats.

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Claudia Cruz

Lori Grunin

Feb. 5, 2019 7:39 a.m. PT

firefox-silent-autoplay-videos — On sites like YouTube, Firefox will let you "always allow" the audio autoplay videos.
Mozilla

Mozilla , the nonprofit foundation behind the Firefox browser, announced Monday that it's improving your surfing experience a little by blocking autoplaying sound by default, rather than as a site-by-site opt-in.

Chris Pearce, a Mozilla software engineer, blogged that with the arrival of Firefox 66 for desktop and Android, the browser will silently autoplay videos when you open a web page. Currently you have to click on a speaker icon in the tab when the audio begins or right-click and choose "mute tab." (Here's how to mute in most browsers.)

You'll be able to listen to the video, but you will have to interact with the player, Pearce clarified. For sites such as YouTube, where it thinks people always want to listen to autoplaying video, Firefox gives you the ability to always allow audio from automatic playback. To activate it, you click an icon in the navigation bar and change the permission from block to allow.

Silence becomes golden when Firefox 66 arrives on March 19.