If ads were monsters then automatically playing video ads would be the boss. You can hardly imagine something more annoying on the internet than these loud commercials that startle you every time. And the trend is that the number of websites providing automatically playing videos increases. Not necessarily those videos try to sell you sketchy mobile games they may only present the website or the services provided on that website. Nevertheless, they are annoying, unwanted, and sudden. In this article, we will review ways to block pop-up video ads and disable HTML5 autoplay.
Contents
- How to Stop Video Ads Using AdLock
- Block Video Ads on Desktop Browsers
- How to Disable Video Autoplay in Google Chrome
- Turn off Autoplay Videos in Chrome on Android
- How to Turn Off Autoplay in Mozilla Firefox
- How to Stop Autoplay Videos in Opera
- How to Stop HTML5 Autoplay in Safari
- How to Turn off Autoplay on Facebook
How to Stop Video Ads Using AdLock
The only way to disable video ads in all your browsers is to use an ad blocker. Though most of the browsers do have options that provide tools to deal with the ads, those options are imperfect and have tons of buts. First, because browsers don’t want to engage in an open confrontation with large advertisers, and second, since all major browsers are free, they naturally can’t afford a high-quality ad-blocking option as it requires both resource and time. The best way to get rid of annoying ads is to resort to our special ad-blocking tool AdLock as it offers comprehensive solutions for both computers and smartphones.
Block Video Ads on Desktop Browsers
We’ve rounded up the easiest ways to get rid of frustrating video advertisements on PC browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Safari. You can either mess with browser settings or rely on a good adblocker and forget about ads forever. It’s up to you.
How to Disable Video Autoplay in Google Chrome
If you are using Google Chrome as your primary browser, then you have 3 ways of blocking auto playback video ads:
- Muting the browser tab;
- Permanently muting the website;
- Disabling autoplay in Chrome flags;
Let’s consider these methods.
Muting the browser tab
Usually, autoplay videos take up to 30 seconds of loading timeout. While you are searching for the content you need, you open several tabs and start skimming the information. Your favorite music plays in the background, your mood is great. Then, suddenly, someone starts yelling at you “BREAKING NEWS! APPLES TURNED INTO ORANGES! TRUMP ATE 2 PIECES OF BREAD! NEW ANIME RPG IS OUT” and all that stuff. To find the tab that yells, you quickly check them for a small speaker icon, don’t you? And then what? You close the tab because you’re already pissed off. But here’s what you can do:
- Right-click the tab;
- Click the “Mute website/tab”.
This works for pinned tabs as well. If needed, you can unmute the website repeating the same actions.
Permanently muting the website
You can mute websites permanently to prevent any video ads from automatically playing. To permanently ban autoplay ads on a website, you should:
- Right-click the “Secure” section to the left on the URL;
- Click the “Sound” dropdown;
- Check the “Always block on this site” option.
This method is good because you don’t need to worry about muting/unmuting the site each time you visit it.
Disabling autoplay in Chrome flags
There’s yet another way to block auto playback provided by Chrome developers. It’s quite easy and kinda works. All you need is to:
- Launch Chrome;
- Type in the Address Bar:chrome://flags/#autoplay-policy;
- Press the “Enter” button;
- Click the dropdown in “Autoplay policy”;
- Select “Document user activation is required” and relaunch the browser.
Although this method is effective as it blocks autoplay, you will still see idle video ads here and there. So better draw your attention to our special ad-blocking tool AdLock. We offer the best solution to ad-related issues for both computers and smartphones. If you want to block video ads on your computer, follow this link to download AdLock and then install it. Once you launch AdLock, it starts blocking all types of commercials. No additional actions are needed from you.
Turn off Autoplay Videos in Chrome on Android
On Android, the setting allowing to disable autoplay video is hidden deep inside Chrome’s settings. Let us show you the way.
- Tap the overflow menu (“⋮”)of the Chrome;
- Tap “Settings”and select “Site settings”;
- Locate “Media” at the bottom of the list.
- Find the “Autoplay” option;
- Toggle off the autoplay feature.
Use the images below to help if you get lost along the way.
Remove Video Ads from Android
To get rid of video ads on your Android phone download AdLock for free from here then follow instructions to install the application on your smartphone. Now launch the application to complete two steps of adjusting.
- Check for updates
Open an application, tap on the three dots at the top right corner and choose Check updates. In a new menu tap on UPDATE ALL
- Switch to the AdLocker tab and enable HTTPS filtering. In a pop-up window tap OK. Then you will be asked to set a drawing pattern to verify your identity for future actions. Draw a pattern you surely will remember. It’s just a formality remember AdLock doesn’t send data outside your device. You need to turn on HTTPS filtering to stop video ads on the websites with secure web connection otherwise ad-blocking will be either average at best or impossible at worst.
That’s it! No ads and no more autoplaying video pop-ups from now!
How to Turn Off Autoplay in Mozilla Firefox
To stop autoplay videos in Firefox you will need hidden settings. Launch Mozilla Firefox and in a new tab paste this path about:config?filter=autoplay. Mozilla will try to scare you with this warning window:
But you don’t have to worry, messing with autoplay settings won’t affect the workability of the browser. Go ahead and press I accept the risk! Uncheck the box Show this warning next time to skip this step in the future. Double-click on media.autoplay.enabled;true to change it from true to false. Once you’ve done that, the line will appear bold, and the status will change from default to modified. The second line media.block-autoplay-until-in-foreground;true is fine leave it as it is.
How to Stop Autoplay Videos in Opera
Opera browser is based on Chromium, and you will have to apply the same settings as Google Chrome.
- Step 1: deactivate Flash
Click the Easy setup button and go to Browser settings
Scroll down to Advanced->Content settings->Flash. Switch the toggle to Block sites from running flash or to Ask first (recommended).
- Step 2: block pop-ups
Go to Browser settings->Advanced->Content settings->Pop-ups and redirects->Blocked (recommended).
How to Stop HTML5 Autoplay in Safari
- Click the Safari tab and choose Preferences, then click Websites.
- Click Auto-Play option and under the blank window find When visiting other websites and choose Stop media with sound.
How to Turn off Autoplay on Facebook
Facebook’s autoplay is something else. Oftentimes, even hassling with browser settings doesn’t affect Facebook. To stop Facebook video autoplay, you should:
- Log in to your Facebook account;
- Select the down arrow in the upper-right corner, then select “Settings”;
- Select “Videos”;
- Click the drop-down menu to the right of Auto-Play Videos, then switch “Off”.
Note, that turning off Facebook Autoplay in a web browser will not affect the settings in the mobile app. So, let’s consider how to Turn off Facebook autoplay on Android smartphones and iPhones.
How to Turn off Autoplay on the Facebook App for Android
- Launch the Facebook app;
- Tap the hamburger menu (“☰”);
- Scroll down and tap “Settings & Privacy”;
- Tap “Settings”;
- Scroll down and tap “Media and Contacts”;
- Tap “Autoplay” and select “Never Autoplay Videos”.
How to Turn off Autoplay on the Facebook App for iPhone
- Launch the Facebook app on your iPhone;
- Tap the hamburger menu (“☰”);
- Scroll down and tap “Settings & Privacy”;
- Tap “Settings”;
- Scroll down and tap “Media and Contacts”;
- Tap “Videos and Photos”;
- Tap “Autoplay” and select “Never Autoplay Videos”.
Conclusion
Now you know how to prevent video ads from automatically playing on websites. Keep in mind that instead of messing with setting each time a new ad format appears and starts to drive you up the wall, the wise choice is to stick to a reliable adblocker. Say goodbye to commercials with AdLock.
AdLock — a wise choice.
