Microsoft Edge Canary and Dev channels can now limit autoplay videos

Microsoft Edge logo on Start menu
Microsoft Edge logo on Start menu (Image credit: Windows Central)

What you need to know

  • A new option to limit autoplay videos is available in Microsoft Edge from the Canary and Dev channels.
  • The feature uses algorithms to limit media from automatically playing.
  • Microsoft states that "most popular websites will remain unaffected."

Updated July 10, 2019: It appears this feature is also available as an experimental flag on the Dev channel. The original story follows.

A new option to limit videos from autoplaying on websites is available for users running the latest version of Microsoft Edge from the Canary channel. The feature requires users to enable the feature through about:flags. MSPowerUser spotted the new feature last week.

Autoplay videos are often criticized for being annoying and getting in the way of content that users want to see. Both topical videos and ads on webpages can interfere with users reading text. Limiting autoplay videos will be welcomed by many users, though it is a bit controversial because it affects ads on the web.

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Kyle Pflug from the Microsoft Edge team tweeted about the new feature and included a summary. While the feature "limits certain websites from playing media automatically" it's worth highlighting that "Most popular websites will remain unaffected."

Microsoft continues to add new features to Microsoft Edge and we'll see how limiting autoplay videos progresses in the future.

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Sean Endicott
News Writer and apps editor

Sean Endicott brings nearly a decade of experience covering Microsoft and Windows news to Windows Central. He joined our team in 2017 as an app reviewer and now heads up our day-to-day news coverage. If you have a news tip or an app to review, hit him up at sean.endicott@futurenet.com.