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For anyone who is asking why sites are pushing auto playing videos, this is why. Google is actively pushing video to "increase engagement". All of those "news"

For anyone who is asking why sites are pushing auto playing videos, this is why. Google is actively pushing video to "increase engagement". All of those "news" sites have a Google Ads rep that tells them increase engagement equals more ad revenue, so they maximize it to the hilt. It becomes the overriding force UX be damned.

sp332 7y ago
This was fraud perpetrated by Facebook. https://twitter.com/ConroyForReal/status/1052403439613829120 https://twitter.com/ConroyForReal/status/1052403439613829120 Not saying Google didn't do it too, but I know for sure Facebook was lying.
- bhhaskin 7y ago
  Oh no doubt.
magashna 7y ago
Nothing repels my engagement more than a video on a news site, following my scrolling while I'm reading.
Ajedi32 7y ago
Aren't auto playing videos blocked by default in Chrome now? https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2017/09/autoplay-policy-changes https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2017/09/autoplay-p...
- degenerate 7y ago
  No. The Autoplay chrome flag was added but then removed/scrapped sometime in early 2019. You can only stop autoplay videos by using extensions now. The only extension that is actively maintained (and actually works) is called "AutoplayStopper" https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/autoplaystopper/ejddcgojdblidajhngkogefpkknnebdh?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/autoplaystopper/ej...
  - Ajedi32 7y ago
    There's no flag; it's on by default. Do you have a link to an article talking about the autoplay policy being reverted?
    - degenerate 7y ago
      No, I am speaking by my own use of Chrome only. Go to YouTube or any large news site, and the videos still autoplay, regardless of whatever chrome settings/flags are now supposedly default.
  - jmedley 7y ago
    That's not actually what's going on. You can find an explanation here: https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2018/11/web-audio-autoplay#how-the-mei-works https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2018/11/web-audio-...
- katsura 7y ago
  It is blocked only if the video has sound. Muted videos can be played automatically.
- vanadium 7y ago
  No, but I can confirm that in FF69 it's finally blocking those banal CNN videos that seem to accompany every. single. article.
- flanbiscuit 7y ago
  They've switched to checking an "mei" score to see if a video is allowed to autoplay on a site: https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2017/09/autoplay-policy-changes#mei https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2017/09/autoplay-p...

sp332 7y ago

This was fraud perpetrated by Facebook. https://twitter.com/ConroyForReal/status/1052403439613829120 https://twitter.com/ConroyForReal/status/1052403439613829120 Not saying Google didn't do it too, but I know for sure Facebook was lying.

bhhaskin 7y ago
Oh no doubt.

magashna 7y ago

Nothing repels my engagement more than a video on a news site, following my scrolling while I'm reading.

Ajedi32 7y ago

Aren't auto playing videos blocked by default in Chrome now? https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2017/09/autoplay-policy-changes https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2017/09/autoplay-p...

degenerate 7y ago
No. The Autoplay chrome flag was added but then removed/scrapped sometime in early 2019. You can only stop autoplay videos by using extensions now. The only extension that is actively maintained (and actually works) is called "AutoplayStopper" https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/autoplaystopper/ejddcgojdblidajhngkogefpkknnebdh?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/autoplaystopper/ej...
- Ajedi32 7y ago
  There's no flag; it's on by default. Do you have a link to an article talking about the autoplay policy being reverted?
  - degenerate 7y ago
    No, I am speaking by my own use of Chrome only. Go to YouTube or any large news site, and the videos still autoplay, regardless of whatever chrome settings/flags are now supposedly default.
- jmedley 7y ago
  That's not actually what's going on. You can find an explanation here: https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2018/11/web-audio-autoplay#how-the-mei-works https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2018/11/web-audio-...
katsura 7y ago
It is blocked only if the video has sound. Muted videos can be played automatically.
vanadium 7y ago
No, but I can confirm that in FF69 it's finally blocking those banal CNN videos that seem to accompany every. single. article.
flanbiscuit 7y ago
They've switched to checking an "mei" score to see if a video is allowed to autoplay on a site: https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2017/09/autoplay-policy-changes#mei https://developers.google.com/web/updates/2017/09/autoplay-p...