Google is taking point at one of the biggest whip of the modern web.
Starting in January 2018, the Chrome browser will automatically block noisy auto-play video on web pages.
“One of the most frequent user concerns is unexpected media playback, which can use data, consume power, and make unwanted noise while browsing,” Google wrote in a blog post.
In order To gain this, Chrome will be making auto-play more familiar with user expectations and will give users more control over audio.”
In Chrome 64, auto-playing videos will be blocked by default unless they’re muted, or if “the user has indicated an interest in the media.”
That means auto play will be allowed for a site if you’ve frequently played a video on it or added the site to your mobile homepage.
You won’t need to manually play every YouTube video or Twitch stream you select, in other words.
Auto play will also be authorized if you “clicked somewhere on the site during the browsing session” for some reason.
Google’s paving the path for the wonderful-sounding feature by adding the ability to completely mute all audio for a given website in Chrome 63, which is currently in the testing phase.
The disabling will continue between browsing sessions.
To activate page-muting when Chrome 63 goes live, load the website you want to disable audio for, click on the “Page Info bubble” to the left of the URL, and look for the Sound option.
Here’s a picture of it:
Noisy auto play videos aren’t the only online bane in Google’s sights.
Native advert-blocking capabilities are coming to Chrome soon.
“We propose to have Chrome stop showing adverts (including those owned or served by Google) on websites that are not compliant with the Better Ads Standards starting in early 2018,” Google’s Sridhar Ramaswamy announced earlier this year.
Chrome’s ad-blocker won’t eliminate all ads—only the most distracting and burdensome ones.