Automatic video playback can be one of the most annoying things on the web today, especially for users who need to concentrate for work purposes. Google has taken note of the problem, and Chrome will automatically block automatic video playback in your browser.
Chrome updates to block automatic playback of videos intelligently based on user habits
In a blog post, Google said that Chrome would analyse the user’s browsing history and habits to determine where autoplay videos should be blocked, and where the user might not want that to happen. If you have no browsing history, Chrome will allow automatic playback on more than 1,000 sites, where the highest percentage of visitors are seen to play media with sound.
As the user on the web, the list changes as Chrome learns from the user’s habits, and allows automatic playback on sites, where the user in question plays the media with sound, during most of your visits, and disables it on places where it does not. In this way, Chrome offers a personalised and predictable browsing experience.
While this sounds like an exciting addition, users may be sceptical that Chrome will review their browsing habits. This new feature should already be available in a Chrome browser update, so interested users should check for updates if they have not already done so.
What do you think of this new measure adopted by Google in Chrome? Are you concerned that your browser will study and analyse the history of websites you’ve visited frequently and your activity on them?