Browser Extension to Stop Autoplay Videos and Audio

I have not had a TV for around 20 years. It feels good. No big screen trying to hypnotize me, annoy me, sell me something, or make me unnecessarily angry before breakfast. Highly recommended.

Sadly, I still have to read the news occasionally, otherwise I may slowly turn into a caveman with a laptop. Reading online newspapers and magazines is one of those little morning and evening rituals. Not always enjoyable, but probably necessary.

One of the most annoying things online, besides manipulative headlines and articles written like emotional traps, is audio and video autoplay.

I just want some peace in front of my computer. I open a page, I want to read, and suddenly some video starts playing out of nowhere. Lovely. My brain did not ask for a surprise drilling session. Yes, I may be a bit fragile, but autoplay media is still a horrible little invention.

That is why I made a small browser extension to stop autoplay videos and audio. It is called No Autoplay, Thanks!, because sometimes the internet needs to be told no like a badly trained dog.

How to Stop Autoplay Videos in Chrome and Firefox

Chrome and Firefox handle autoplay differently, and neither browser manages to stop every creative little media player that decides it desperately needs your attention.

Autoplay in Google Chrome

The annoying part is that Chrome does not currently offer a simple, friendly, normal human option called something obvious like “Disable autoplay videos”. That would be far too easy, obviously.

Older versions of Chrome had a flag here:

chrome://flags/#autoplay-policy

People used to change it to something like:

Document user activation is required

In current Chrome, that flag is usually gone, useless, or not something normal users can rely on. Chrome’s current autoplay behavior is mostly this:

• Muted autoplay is allowed.
• Autoplay with sound is usually blocked unless Chrome decides you have interacted with that site enough.
• Chrome may allow autoplay with sound on desktop if the site has a high enough Media Engagement Index.

In plain English: Chrome tries to stop the worst audio surprises, but it still allows many muted videos to start moving on their own. So you may still get dancing news thumbnails, autoplaying embedded players, animated video previews, and other little visual annoyances you never requested.

Google’s autoplay policy also includes technical options intended mainly for developers and testing, but they are hardly convenient everyday browser settings for normal users.

The more practical built-in option is:

chrome://settings/content/sound

There you can stop websites from playing sound.

That helps with surprise audio, which is the most evil part. But it still does not stop every moving video, because muted autoplay can still be allowed.

Autoplay in Firefox

Firefox is actually more civilized about this.

Go to:

Settings → Privacy & Security → Permissions → Autoplay → Settings

Firefox lets you choose how autoplay should work by default. Options include blocking audio, blocking both audio and video, or allowing autoplay.

Selecting Block Audio and Video is a good place to start if you hate autoplay.

Firefox also lets you change autoplay permissions for individual websites, which is useful when one particular site legitimately needs media to start automatically.

Even with built-in browser controls, however, websites can use custom JavaScript players, previews, delayed playback, embedded systems, and other tricks that do not always behave exactly as expected.

So, if you want to further reduce autoplay nonsense and have similar controls across browsers, a browser extension can still be useful.

A Small Browser Extension Made by IT SUCKS!

I made a small browser extension called No Autoplay, Thanks!

It is not trying to be clever, social, shiny, cloudy, or spiritually connected to a subscription plan. It just tries to stop autoplay media from annoying me.

The extension is available for Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers, and I have also made a Firefox version.

I use it in Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Brave, and Firefox.

The extension is intentionally small. I did not want another bloated thing sitting in the browser like it owns the place.

What This Chrome and Firefox Autoplay Blocker Does

No Autoplay, Thanks! is a small browser extension made to reduce autoplay videos, autoplay audio, and unwanted media playback on web pages.

It does not try to replace a full ad blocker. It does not try to clean the entire internet. That job would require holy water, a legal department, and possibly a priest.

It focuses on one specific annoyance: media that starts playing when you did not ask for it.

The current version is intentionally lightweight. Some heavier JavaScript tricks can block more things, but they can also make complex websites unstable. I would rather have a small extension that behaves itself than a clever little monster that makes pages freeze just because it wanted to win a fight with a video player.

Features of No Autoplay, Thanks!

• Removes autoplay from video and audio elements where possible.
• Pauses media that starts without a recent user action.
• Helps stop autoplay videos in Chrome, Firefox, and other supported browsers.
• Helps reduce unwanted autoplay audio.
• Lets you play videos manually when you actually want to watch them.
• Includes a simple popup interface.
• Has a global enable or disable switch.
• Lets you allow autoplay on the current site.
• Includes an option to allow muted autoplay.
• Includes an option to reduce media preloading where it is safe to do so.
• Uses Manifest V3.
• Uses lightweight compatibility-first JavaScript.
• Avoids aggressive page watching for better stability.
• Excludes some heavy AI chatbot websites where autoplay blocking is not useful.
• Uses no remote code, no tracking, no analytics, no ads.

Get No Autoplay, Thanks!

No Autoplay, Thanks! is available in the Chrome Web Store.

You can install it directly here: No Autoplay, Thanks! in the Chrome Web Store.

The Chrome Web Store version can also be used with compatible Chromium-based browsers such as Microsoft Edge and Brave.

A Firefox version is ready too, including support for Firefox on Android. I plan to publish it through Firefox Add-ons. Once Mozilla approves and publishes it, I will add the Firefox Add-ons link here.

No downloading mysterious ZIP files, no developer mode, no digging around inside extension folders. Click, install, and hopefully enjoy a browser that shuts up a little.

How to Use No Autoplay, Thanks!

After installation, the extension starts working automatically.

Open the extension from your browser toolbar, or from the Extensions/Add-ons menu on supported mobile browsers.

From there you can:

• Turn the extension on or off globally.
• Allow autoplay on the current site.
• Allow muted autoplay if you do not mind silent videos.
• Reduce media preloading.

The current-site allow option is useful for websites where autoplay actually makes sense. For example, some music tools, video editing platforms, course websites, learning websites, or media dashboards may need different behavior.

Not every autoplay is evil. Some of it is useful. The problem is when random websites behave like your screen belongs to them.

Why Blocking Sound Is Not Enough

Blocking sound is helpful, but it is not the same as stopping autoplay.

If a website starts a muted video, the video can still move, consume bandwidth, distract your eyes, and generally behave like an attention-seeking little pest.

That is the annoying trick. The sound may be blocked, but the moving nonsense can still load and play silently in the corner, pretending it is harmless.

No Autoplay, Thanks! tries to go a bit further by interfering with autoplay behavior directly on the page, while still keeping the code light enough to avoid causing more problems than it solves.

Does This Extension Stop Every Autoplay Video?

No. This extension will not stop every single moving video on the internet.

Some websites use custom JavaScript players, strange embedded frames, delayed scripts, shadow DOM tricks, non-standard media setups, or other creative nonsense. A small browser extension can catch a lot, but it cannot magically fix every website built by someone who thinks surprise video is a personality trait.

The current version is deliberately lightweight. It avoids some aggressive blocking techniques because compatibility matters. A more aggressive extension could try to fight every video player on every page, but then it may also break normal play buttons, freeze heavy web apps, or make your fan start doing its best impression of a cheap airport.

So the goal is not perfection. The goal is fewer autoplay videos, less surprise audio, less pointless media loading, and a calmer browser.

Privacy

No Autoplay, Thanks! does not collect personal data. It does not monitor or transmit your browsing history. It does not use analytics. It does not send anything to a remote server. It does not show ads. It does not load remote code. It does not connect to some mysterious marketing dashboard in the clouds.

Your extension settings are stored locally in the browser so No Autoplay, Thanks! can remember things such as whether blocking is enabled, whether muted autoplay is allowed, and which websites you have explicitly allowed.

It runs locally in your browser and tries to stop autoplay media. That is it.

No tracking. No telemetry. No hidden circus.

Who This Extension Is For

This browser extension may be useful if you:

• Read online newspapers and hate autoplay videos.
• Want to stop surprise audio while browsing.
• Find moving video thumbnails distracting.
• Prefer pressing play manually like a civilized person.
• Want a small browser extension without ads, tracking, or analytics.
• Use Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Brave, or another supported browser.

If you enjoy websites shouting at you with unexpected videos, this extension is probably not for you. Also, I have concerns.

Such a Small Thing Took So Much Time

I thought this would be one of those tiny jobs. A small browser extension to block autoplay media, maybe one hour of work, a bit of fiddling with icons, a quick popup, done. Cute little fantasy.

I was wrong.

The first simple version worked quite well. Then I tried to make it smarter. That is usually where the trouble starts. More JavaScript checks, more media detection, more attempts to catch tricky players, more clever ideas. And then some websites started behaving like fragile little castles made of wet biscuits.

Some heavier approaches can technically catch more autoplay attempts, but they can also annoy custom players, break play buttons, make heavy web apps freeze, or cause short CPU spikes. Wonderful. An extension made to reduce annoyance should not become another source of annoyance. That would be beautifully stupid.

So, in the end, No Autoplay, Thanks! became intentionally lightweight. It does not try to win a holy war against every media player on the internet. It tries to stop common autoplay nonsense without being too aggressive. Some AI chatbot pages and heavy web apps are excluded because they do not need this extension poking around inside them. They already have enough JavaScript drama.

I made this primarily for myself. I use it. It works for me. If it helps you too, lovely. If it does not work everywhere, I am sorry. Some websites use weird custom media players and non-standard setups, and I am not going to break half the internet just to catch one extra autoplay pest hiding in the bushes.

Feedback

No Autoplay, Thanks! is a personal project and is provided as is.

If something is not working properly, or if you simply have feedback, leave a comment below this article. I’ll be happy to reply.

Autoplay Is Bad Manners

The problem is not only autoplay itself. The bigger problem is the attitude behind it.

Some websites behave like they own your screen, your speakers, your bandwidth, and your attention. You open a page to read something, and suddenly a video starts moving, loading, flashing, or playing because somebody decided that your quiet moment needed a forced little media circus.

That is not user-friendly. It is pushy.

If I want to watch a video, I can press play. It is not exactly advanced human technology. Giving users no proper choice is bad design, and bad design dressed up as “engagement” is still bad design.

Autoplay media is one of those small internet annoyances that should have been solved properly years ago. Instead, users are left hunting for settings, extensions, and workarounds just to make websites calm down.

Giving no real choice to the user is not user-friendly. It sucks.