Photo by Mark Skeet on Unsplash
Google Chrome 66 Promises to Mute Auto-Play Videos
Google has released version 66 (specifically version 66.0.3359.117) of its Chrome Web browser, which the company says will mute auto-play videos. However, there are some exceptions, and in our testing, the results are mixed. If you have interacted with a site in any way, auto-play video is allowed, so the feature may not prove as useful as it could be.
It’s also worth noting that a previous Chrome release included an ad-blocker. It doesn’t block all ads but does filter out the most egregious ones, making the Web more tolerable for those who aren’t already using an ad-blocking extension. (And remember, stick with well-known ad blockers — there are some sketchy ones out there.)
To see if you have the update and install it if necessary, choose Chrome > About Google Chrome. If Chrome is not up to date, it will automatically download the latest version, and you’ll have to relaunch Chrome to finish the installation.
“if you’ve ever interacted with a sieve before” makes this feature pretty much useless. I never want auto-play videos or sound, not on any site. I don’t care if it’s my site.