How to block autoplaying videos in the new Microsoft Edge web browser

[harlan4096]

Microsoft's new Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser may be configured to block autoplaying media -- video and audio -- automatically; this guide provides you with instructions on how to configure Edge to block autoplay.

Autoplay refers to media content that plays automatically when a user loads a webpage or scrolls down to a particular section on the site. The feature may be desirable on some sites, e.g. it may be a user's expectation on a video site after clicking on a video link on that site, but it may also be undesirable.

Many newspaper sites have started to push videos  and many of these play automatically when an article is opened. The same is true for video ads that often play automatically as well.

Note: Windows 10 comes with autoplay settings but these manage device autoplay functionality only.

For a user, it may be seen as disruptive and that is probably the main reason why many web browsers support options to limit or block autoplaying media.

Mozilla's Firefox web browser comes with native autoplay controls, and so do other browsers. Brave, a Chromium-based browser may display a prompt when it notices that sites attempt to play media automatically. Microsoft's classic Edge browser supported the blocking of autoplaying media as well.

Microsoft's Chromium-based Microsoft Edge browser gives users control over autoplaying content as well. Current versions support limiting autoplay but a simple change in the experimental settings improves the options further. Once the change has been made, you may configure Microsoft Edge to block autoplaying media by default.

Note: Experimental flags are not yet ready for wider distribution. It is likely that Microsoft will integrate the option in the Settings directly at one point in the future. In this particular case, it appears that some functionality has not yet implemented even in the most recent Canary version. It may still be a good idea to make the settings change right away to block autoplaying media in Edge once it starts to work.

Here is how you block autoplaying content in Microsoft Edge:

1. Load edge://flags/ in the Microsoft Edge address bar.
   
2. Search for autoplay.
   
3. Set the experimental flag "Show block option in autoplay settings" to enabled.
   
4. Restart the browser.
   
5. Open the Autoplay Site Settings in Edge after the restart: edge://settings/content/mediaAutoplay.
   
6. Set the setting to "Block".
   
   1. Block: Media that plays sound will be blocked from automatically playing. Changes will only be applied to new tabs.
      

Microsoft's work on the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge web browser continues, and the option to block autoplay is a welcome addition to the browser.

Now You: how do you handle autoplaying media?
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