How to Disable All AutoPlay Videos in Firefox Without ...

Whenever Firefox blocks an autoplaying video, you should see a tiny icon denoting the fact to the left corner of the URL bar. Click it. On the ... Autoplayingvideosareascourge.Andno,I’mnottalkingaboutYouTube,Netflix,oranyothersitethatyouvisitsimplytostreamvideos.It’sthosesitesthatyougoprimarilywiththeintentiontoread.Instead,youarebombardedbystupidvideosthatstarttoplaysomewherewithinapage.Thesevideosarejustplainpointlessforthemostpart.Notjustthat,buttheyalsocomewithincreasedpageloadingtimesandconsumetonsofbandwidthintheprocess. Thankfully,Firefoxnowfeaturestheabilitytoblockthesepeskyvideosfromplayingautomatically.Finally,youwon’thavetorelyonextensions(thatmayormaynotwork)tohelpyououtinthatregard.However,there’sacaveat.Mozilla’swebbrowserblocksonlyaudible(unmuted)videos.Somutedvideoscanstillgiveyougrief.Butdon’tworry.Iwillshowyouaniftyworkaroundtoblockthoseaswell.Note:Beforeproceeding,makesurethatyouhavethelatestFirefoxupdateinstalled.Todothat,opentheFirefoxmenu,clickHelp,andthenclickAboutFirefox.Ifanewupdateisavailable,itshouldstartdownloadingandinstallingautomatically.DisablingAutoplayVideosMozillaaddedtheabilitytoblockvideosthatautoplay(andaren’tmuted)initsFirefoxbrowserversion66.0update.However,youstillneedtomanuallyenablethefunctionalitybeforethebrowsercanactuallystopvideosfromplayingautomatically.Thefollowingstepsshowyouhowtodojustthat.Step1:OpentheFirefoxmenu,andthenclickOptions.Step2:ClickthePrivacy&Securityside-tab.Next,scrolldowntothesectionlabeledPermissions,andthenchecktheboxnexttoBlockWebsitesFromAutomaticallyPlayingSound.That’sit.Loadupwhateverpeskysiteitisthatplaysvideoswithyourspeakersblaring.Andyoushouldbehappytolearnthatthosevideosnolongerautoplay.Instead,youwillseethempaused.CNNisaperfectexampletotestthisawesomefunctionalityinaction.Ofcourse,youcanplayblockedvideosmanuallywheneveryouwanttobyclickingthePlayiconinavideopane.That’showitshould’vebeenallalong.WhitelistingSitesObviously,you’dnotwantFirefoxtodisablevideosfromplayingautomaticallyonsitesthatexistprimarilytostreamvideo.Itbreakstheexperience.Forexample,IfoundFirefoxtoblockYouTubevideosfromautoplayingwheneverIwantedtoopentheminanewtab,whichisnotcoolandodd.IcheckedifIcouldliftthisrestriction,andfoundoutthatIcoulddojustthatprettyeasily.WheneverFirefoxblocksanautoplayingvideo,youshouldseeatinyicondenotingthefacttotheleftcorneroftheURLbar.Clickit.Onthecontextmenuthatshowsup,clickthepull-downmenunexttoAutoplaySound,andthenselectAllow.Firefoxwillnolongerblockvideosfromtheparticularsiteanymore.Alternatively,youcanchoosetogobacktowhereyouhadtoenablethefunctionalitytoblockautoplayingvideosinthefirstplace.Then,usetheExceptionsbuttonnexttoBlockWebsitesFromAutomaticallyPlayingSoundtoexcludesitesbydirectlyinsertingURLs.Thatiswhereyoushouldgotomanageyourexceptions.DisablingMutedVideosIfyoualsodislikemutedvideos(IknowIdo),thenyoucanrelyonasimpleworkaroundtomakeFirefoxdisablethoseaswellwithitslatestvideoblockingfunctionality.Don’tworry.Youdon’thavetoinstallanyextensions!AllyouhavetodoischangeasingleFirefoxpreference,whichyoucanaccomplishusingthebuilt-inConfigurationEditor.Step1:Onanewtab,typeabout:config,andthenpressEnter.Whenprompted,clicktheIAccepttheRisk!buttontoproceed.Justsoyouknow,there’snoreasontobescaredbythatprompt.Followmyinstruction,andyoushouldbefine.Step2:Typemedia.autoplay.allow-mutedintothesearchbaratthetopoftheConfigurationEditor.ThatshouldfiltertheparticularFirefoxpreferencefromtheothers.Step3:Double-clickthefilteredpreferencetochangeitsvaluefrom‘true’to‘false.’Closethetabtosaveyourchanges.Andthat’sit.Youshouldfindallvideos,regardlessofwhethertheyaremutedornot,blockedfromplayingautomatically.Ofcourse,youcanexcludevideosfrombeingblockedoncertainsitesjustlikewithunmutedvideos.WhataMenace!Autoplayingvideosaretheworstwaytopushcontentontovisitors,andIwishpublishersunderstoodthat.Thefactthatthey’veresortedtopushingevenmorevideosovertheyearsprobablymeansthattheydon’tcareabouttheiraudiencesmuch.ThumbsuptoMozillafordeliveringnativefunctionalitytostopthismenacebyourselves.Nextup:DidyouknowthatamaliciouscodewrappedinaharmlesslookingextensioncanhijackFirefoxtominecryptocurrencywithoutyourknowledge?Ifyouareconcerned,here’showtostopthatfromhappening. Lastupdatedon03February,2022 TheabovearticlemaycontainaffiliatelinkswhichhelpsupportGuidingTech.However,itdoesnotaffectoureditorialintegrity.Thecontentremainsunbiasedandauthentic. 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