Chrome: Block for all videos with audio since January 2018
Before the ad-block and after the possibility of muting the sites will come a total block for the videos that reproduce audio automatically in the browser.
Google is facing the increasingly annoying trend of autoplay videos with active audio. On the Chrome 64 browser, which should arrive in January, the automatic reproduction will be allowed only if the videos are offered with the ” mute ” activated, then with the audio muted, or only when the user shows interest in the content .
This clause is applied for example, if the site is inserted in the Home of the smartphone or tablet, or if the user has previously and repeatedly played the content on the desktop.
Google has also specified that the automatic playback will be granted if the user presses or clicks somewhere on the site during the browsing session: ” Chrome will make automatic playback more consistent with what is expected of the user and give the same more control for audio management “, underlines Google on the official post. ” These changes will unify browser behavior on desktop and mobile, making web media development more predictable across platforms and different browsers. ”
On Chrome 63, Google is adding an option to silence sites, with the next version expected to arrive during the month of October. This option will also persist in subsequent browsing sessions, allowing the user a wide level of customization regarding the specific function. The new Chrome blocking tools will not only serve to remove the annoyance of invasive content, but also and above all to save data and reduce the energy consumption of different online browsing sessions.
Developers who want to insert autoplay videos will have to follow Google’s guidelines: use them in a less aggressive manner, both in terms of sound and use of resources; consider proposing a video with muted audio, allowing the user to start it with a click; prefer native browser controls for audio-video playback. Then, on Chrome, a total ad-blocking feature will also be created for sites that contain a certain number of ” unacceptable ” banners (ie countdowns, pop-ups, invasive content).
The Chrome ad-blocker will be developed as if it were a ” filter “, using the Coalition for Better Ads list to determine what to consider harmful to the user experience or not. It will arrive on the Google browser during 2018.
