Why Google Chrome Is Partially Walking Back Its Anti-Autoplay Video Feature

A recent Google Chrome update intended to stop auto-play videos from annoying users had unintended side effects and will be temporarily pulled back, or at least part of it will. The update proved too bothersome for plenty of browser-based games and apps, so Google is giving it some time to cook while developers figure out how to update their code accordingly.

Google product manager John Pallett explained the change in a Chrome bug forum post, as noted by The Verge. Starting earlier this month, the Chrome browser automatically deactivated audio from auto-playing videos in open browser tabs. However, it ended up being problematic in the sense that interactive experiences like online games no longer had audio at all.

Pallett admitted Google’s mistake in his post.

“The team here is working hard to improve things for users and developers, but in this case we didn’t do a good job of communicating the impact of the new autoplay policy to developers using the Web Audio API,” Pallett wrote.

Most users might not notice a change at all, as Pallett promised typical video and audio playback would not be affected by the rollback. Some of the limits Google imposed in early May will still be in place; the tech giant is only removing limits on the Web Audio API developers use. That means Chrome should still hopefully mute auto-playing videos.

Google promised the limits would go back in place in October.

Something that might be irritating to developers is that Google is asking them to comply with the new rules by updating their code, seemingly rather than make any changes to the policy for the sake of pragmatism. Google is giving developers more time to figure out what to do, but it does not sound like the update will be radically different when it returns in October.

Google revealed the plan to curb auto-playing videos last year. At the time, Gizmodo pointed out that it could be a measure for Google to bolster its already near-monopoly on the online ad market.