Firefox has gained a new ability that allows users of the web browser to switch off autoplaying audio. The new update was announced by Dale Harvey, a developer at Mozilla, with the change being part of the new Nightly build for Firefox. The new feature includes a range of options for configuring videos that play automatically on the web, including the ability to choose which sites may automatically play audio and when to allow select sources to trigger automatic playbacks.
Keep in mind that since this is a Firefox Nightly release, users who wish to get their hands on the unstable feature may run into bugs and issues with blocking autoplaying audio. Firefox is quite late to introduce this type of functionality as well. Last year, what’s effectively the same feature was added to version 64 of Google Chrome, which is called Unified Autoplay and targets audio ads in particular. That feature works to block autoplaying of any videos with audio, with a few exceptions based on certain criteria. Of course, it remains a wise habit for users to turn their media volume down on mobile and desktop if they wish to discreetly visit pages that they suspect may attempt automatically playing audio, though with the new Nightly build, Firefox users don’t have to worry about loud video ads that may interrupt their browsing sessions. It remains unclear when this feature will be rolled out globally for everyone to use.
Last October, Mozilla also announced a new web app home screen shortcuts for the mobile version of Firefox. The feature is designed to allow users to add those shortcuts by tapping on a home-shaped icon in the URL bar. The web app will then be installed on that user’s home screen with a dedicated icon that is lifted from the website itself. As Firefox Nightly continues to receive new improvements and features, Mozilla is expected to continue introducing new features to the browser.