Google Chrome's new version 66 is targeting the annoying autoplay videos from websites by preventing them from playing unless they pass certain criteria.
Google Chrome 66 Says Goodbye To Autoplay Media
Google Chrome's update no longer allows media to play automatically, but there are some exceptions.
"As announced earlier, autoplay is now allowed only when either the media won't play sound, after the user clicks or taps on the site, or (on desktop) if the user has previously shown an interest in media on the site," Google said in its official blog post.
On mobile, the user has to add the site to the Home Screen before it can automatically play media. With these restrictions, virtually no embedded media today will surprise users again.
Chrome 66 is now in the beta channel, which means users should receive the full version in April. Once version 66 is live, Chrome will update itself automatically so users won't have to do anything to finally get rid of blaring sounds. The release will also complete Google's autoplay roadmap.
Chrome Version 66 Works With Version 64 To Stop Autoplay
Google says that this feature was supposedly included in version 64, which was released in January. Due to an undisclosed reason, the feature was delayed to version 66.
Chrome 64 did include a temporary solution to pesky autoplay videos. This version allowed users to permanently mute websites by right clicking on the tab and selecting "Mute Site." Afterward, the user will not hear any media on future visits even if it plays.
"These changes will also unify desktop and mobile web behavior, making web media development more predictable across platforms and browsers," Google explained in September 2017.
"These changes will give users greater control over media playing in their browser, while making it easier for publishers to implement autoplay where it benefits the user."
This Chrome 64 feature will still be available even after the new update, which should allow users to take this extra precaution if they accidentally play the media on a website.
Google Chrome Update 66 Includes More Security Features
Apart from ridding websites the freedom to annoy users, Google Chrome's new update also contains other features. The new version 66 will now display warnings whenever an injected code by a third-party software causes a crash. It will then advise the user to remove the software.
Chrome 66 will also remove trust for Symantec certificates. The company's non-compliance with the industry's security standards dates back to 2015. All this time, it was aware of its infrastructure's flaws. Google has since lost confidence, and now it is pushing through its plan of removing trust through the new update.
