Facebook automatically plays videos in your News Feed as you scroll. While some users enjoy these auto-playing videos, others find them distracting or annoying. Fortunately, Facebook provides settings to control which videos play automatically in your News Feed and to stop videos from starting as you scroll.
Here are some quick answers about stopping videos on Facebook:
- You can stop autoplay videos on Facebook by going to Settings > Videos and adjusting your autoplay preferences.
- Turning off autoplay videos prevents videos in your News Feed from automatically starting as you scroll. The video previews will still show up, but won’t play until you click on them.
- You can stop autoplaying videos on cellular data specifically by toggling this setting off under Videos in your account settings.
- The Facebook mobile app also lets you turn off autoplay videos by going to More Options > Settings & Privacy > Media and Contacts.
- Facebook’s default settings have autoplay enabled for WiFi connections. You need to actively change these settings in order to disable autoplay videos.
- Your customized autoplay settings will apply across desktop and mobile to stop videos playing as you scroll.
In this article, we’ll explain in more detail how to prevent videos on Facebook from starting automatically as you scroll on desktop and mobile.
Why Videos Autoplay on Facebook
Facebook introduced autoplaying videos in News Feeds back in 2013. At the time, autoplaying video was a new feature for social media that Facebook adopted early on.
The reason Facebook autoplays videos is to immediately catch your attention and interest as you scroll through posts. Research by Facebook found that people tend to watch videos to completion when they start playing automatically as users are browsing.
Autoplaying in-line videos also allow Facebook to compete with other social networks like TikTok that autoplay vertically-formatted videos in feeds. Automatically playing videos as users scroll helps Facebook increase views and engagement.
However, autoplaying videos can sometimes be disruptive, annoying, or data-heavy for users. Facebook does allow you to customize autoplay settings to suit your preferences. You just need to know where to look.
How to Stop Autoplay Videos on Facebook Desktop
If you use Facebook on a desktop browser, here are the steps to prevent videos from automatically playing as you scroll through posts:
- Click on the down arrow in the top right and select Settings & Privacy.
- Go to the left column and choose Settings.
- Select the Videos option under Media and Contacts.
- Under the Video section, toggle the setting for Autoplay Videos to the off position.
This will disable autoplaying video previews from starting as you scroll through your News Feed. You can still play videos manually by clicking on their preview thumbnails.
Here is a screenshot showing where to find this setting on desktop:
Disabling the Autoplay Videos setting is the main option that will prevent sudden videos from catching your attention on Facebook’s desktop site.
Other Facebook Desktop Video Settings
In addition to the main autoplay option, Facebook provides a few other video preferences you can adjust under Settings > Videos:
- Autoplay Videos on Wi-Fi Only: Choose this to allow autoplaying videos to start only when you’re connected to Wi-Fi and avoid using cellular data.
- Show Text on Videos: Enable this to display captions automatically on videos that have text embedded for accessibility.
- Show Context: Leave this on to see text and emoji commentary overlaid on videos from friends.
Adjust these additional video options based on your preferences for seeing videos on Facebook while browsing on a computer.
How to Stop Video Autoplay on Mobile
You can prevent Facebook videos from autoplaying on your iPhone, Android, or other mobile devices by following these steps:
- Open the Facebook app and tap on the hamburger menu icon in the top right.
- Go to Settings & Privacy > Settings.
- Tap on the Media and Contacts option.
- Turn off the setting for Autoplay Videos.
This will stop videos in your News Feed, groups, and pages from playing automatically as you scroll on mobile. The video thumbnails will still appear, but won’t start playing until you actively click or tap on them.
Here is what the autoplay video toggle looks like within the Facebook app settings for iOS:
On Android devices, accessing the autoplay video setting looks very similar in the menu. Just remember to tap on your profile icon, choose Settings & Privacy, select Media and Contacts, and then turn off Autoplay Videos.
Adjust Additional Mobile Video Settings
While inside the Media and Contacts settings for the Facebook mobile app, you can also configure:
- Autoplay Videos on Wi-Fi Only: Have videos only autoplay when connected to Wi-Fi to save cellular data.
- Show Text On Videos: Displays text captions on videos when available.
- Show Context: Allows you to see commentary from friends overlayed on watched videos.
Customize these extra video preferences as desired for your mobile Facebook experience.
Stop Videos from Auto-Playing in Facebook News Feed
Now that you know how to fully disable autoplay videos on desktop and mobile, videos should stop playing automatically as you scroll through your Facebook News Feed.
To recap, videos will no longer suddenly start playing from:
- The main News Feed
- Groups that you’ve joined
- Pages that you follow
- Sponsored ads
- Your friends’ timelines
- The Watch section
Videos may still auto-play in a few places like Facebook Stories or the Marketplace, where autoplay settings don’t apply. But they will be prevented from playing as you scroll the News Feed.
Here is a comparison showing how videos appear with autoplay enabled vs. disabled:
| Autoplay Enabled | Autoplay Disabled |
|---|---|
| Videos automatically begin playing as they enter the screen. | Video previews appear but do not play until clicked. |
Having autoplay turned off means you’ll encounter less distractions and unwanted noise while browsing Facebook. Videos won’t suddenly begin playing unless you explicitly tap or click on them to start watching.
Troubleshooting Facebook Video Settings
If you are still noticing videos playing automatically after adjusting your Facebook autoplay settings, here are some troubleshooting tips:
- Double check that the Autoplay Videos toggle is definitely turned off under Settings.
- For mobile, make sure the cellular data setting is also disabled.
- Try doing a force quit or hard refresh of the Facebook app or website to apply changes.
- Ensure your Facebook app does not have any special permissions that override autoplay settings.
- See if the videos are playing from an area like Stories where autoplay settings may not apply.
- Make sure to apply video preferences to both desktop and mobile for consistency.
Provided you have autoplay properly disabled on all versions of Facebook you use, videos should not begin playing unless you explicitly click or tap on their preview thumbnails first.
Contact Facebook support if issues with autoplaying videos persist even after toggling the settings off everywhere.
Customizing How Videos Appear on Facebook
Besides controlling autoplay, there are a few other ways to optimize how videos look and perform on Facebook:
- Quality preferences: Adjust video quality under Settings to maximize resolution and picture.
- Data saver: Enable Data Saver to limit video file sizes being loaded.
- Download preferences: Choose whether videos download automatically on Wi-Fi or cellular data.
- Hide videos: News Feed Preferences lets you snooze or hide videos.
Take advantage of these additional settings to control data usage and visibility for Facebook videos beyond just autoplay.
You can also use the News Feed Preferences options to hide videos from friends, groups, pages or sponsors for up to 30 days if you need a video-free Facebook experience.
Autoplay Settings for Other Social Networks
Facebook isn’t the only social media platform that autoplays videos as you scroll. Here are guides for disabling autoplay on other top apps:
Turn Off Autoplay on Instagram
Instagram has an autoplay toggle under Settings > Account > Videos and Photos. Turn this off and stories or feeds won’t play videos automatically.
Stop Autoplay on TikTok
For TikTok, go to your profile > Settings and Privacy > turn off Auto Play Videos. This will prevent the “For You” feed from autoplaying.
Disable YouTube Autoplay
YouTube provides autoplay controls under account Settings > Autoplay. You can disable autoplay on home, subscriptions page, and search results.
Prevent Twitter Videos Autoplaying
On Twitter, go to Settings and Privacy > Accessibility, Display and Languages > uncheck Auto-Play Videos. This will stop videos in your timeline from playing as you scroll.
So if autoplaying videos bother you on other social networks, explore their settings to find autoplay toggles similar to Facebook’s.
Conclusion
Having videos suddenly play as you scroll through Facebook can be disruptive. The good news is you have full control over enabling or disabling autoplaying videos.
To stop Facebook videos from automatically playing:
- On desktop, go to Settings > Videos > turn off Autoplay Videos
- On mobile, go to Settings & Privacy > Media and Contacts > toggle off Autoplay Videos
Adjust both your desktop and mobile Facebook settings to prevent videos from starting as you scroll. Contact support if videos still autoplay even after toggling the preferences off.
With autoplay disabled, you can scroll Facebook comfortably without sound or motion unexpectedly catching your eye. Videos will appear muted until you intentionally click or tap to play them.
Regain control over your Facebook feed by disabling autoplaying videos today!