Google is taking on the irritating trend of auto-playing Web
videos with its Chrome browser. Starting in Chrome 64, which is currently
earmarked for a January 2018 release, auto-play will only be allowed when the
video in question is muted or when a "user has indicated an interest in
the media."
The latter applies if the site has been added to the home
screen on mobile or if the user has frequently played media on the site on
desktop. Google also says auto-play will be allowed if the user has
"tapped or clicked somewhere on the site during the browsing
session."
"Chrome will be making auto-play more consistent with
user expectations and will give users more control over audio," writes
Google in a blog post. "These changes will also unify desktop and mobile
web behavior, making web media development more predictable across platforms
and browsers."
In addition, Google is adding a new site muting option to
Chrome 63 (due for release in October), which allows users to completely
disable audio for individual sites. The site muting option will persist between
browsing sessions, allowing for some degree of user customisation.
However, Apple's upcoming Safari 11 browser—which features
its own auto-play blocking tools—will allow for more granular control, enabling
users to mute auto-playing media with sound or block auto-playing media
entirely on specific sites or on the Internet as a whole.
Aside from removing the annoyance of auto-playing videos
(those that follow you down the page as you scroll are particularly evil),
Chrome's blocking tools will also help users consume less data and power on
mobile devices.
Use auto-play sparingly. Auto-play can be a powerful
engagement tool, but it can also annoy users if undesired sound is played or
they perceive unnecessary resource usage (e.g. data, battery) as the result of
unwanted video playback.
If you do want to use autoplay, consider starting with muted
content and let the user unmute if they are interested in exploring more. This
technique is being effectively used by numerous sites and social networks.
Unless there is a specific reason to do so, we recommend
using the browser’s native controls for video and audio playback. This will
ensure that auto-play policies are properly handled.
If you are using custom media controls, ensure that your
website functions properly when auto-play is not allowed.
In addition to auto-play blocking, Google is planning to
implement ad-blocking inside the Chrome browser. The Google ad-blocker will
block all advertising on sites that have a certain number of "unacceptable
ads." That includes ads that have pop-ups, auto-playing video, and
"prestitial" count-down ads that delay content being displayed.
Google, which refers to the ad-blocker as an ad
"filter," is using a list of unacceptable ad types provided by the
Coalition for Better Ads, an advertising industry trade group. The ad-blocker
is due to launch in 2018.
