(See the Extensions section below.)įirefox: Mozilla’s recently revamped Firefox web browser offers a straightforward way to prevent unwanted videos from playing automatically as you hop from site to site. In the meantime you can use a third-party extension to stop the videos. The good news is that Google is planning a version of Chrome that will block autoplaying video right out of the box, but the bad news is that the company doesn’t have a firm release date. Browser SettingsĬhrome: There’s good and bad news when it comes to disabling autoplay videos in Chrome, the most popular desktop web browser on the planet, according to the analysis firm StatCounter. “Searches about your health condition, your political engagement-you probably want to keep those secret,” and blocking autoplay videos can help, says Günes Acar, a research associate at Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy. Those videos often come packaged with technology that can track your activity across the web for the benefit of advertisers. That's handy if you’ve tethered your laptop to a smartphone at a café or have an internet service provider (ISP) with a monthly data cap.Īnd using a browser extension to block annoying autoplay videos has the added benefit of enhancing your overall online privacy. The videos can be particularly annoying when you have several tabs open and can’t tell where the sound is coming from.īlocking these videos not only cuts down on the distraction but can also keep you from needlessly burning through cellular data. (You can also turn off autoplay just in Facebook.) With a few tweaks of your browser settings or the installation of a small piece of software known as a browser extension, you’ll be able to browse the web on a laptop without having to worry about these videos, which begin playing automatically when you land on a site. You don’t have to let autoplaying videos get in the way when you go to such sites as ESPN and Bloomberg on your computer. Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |