There are occasions when you might need to stop movies and GIFs from routinely taking part in in your social media feeds. This might be since you’re making an attempt to preserve mobile information, restrict the addictiveness of those apps, or keep higher management over your viewing expertise, as when a video goes viral that you just don’t want to see. Regardless of the motive is perhaps, listed below are the steps to show off autoplaying movies and GIFs on well-liked social media platforms.
Fb
To show off autoplay on Fb, navigate to your profile image icon, which seems within the high proper nook of the desktop model or within the backside navigation bar of the cell app. Then, scroll right down to “Settings & Privateness,” then choose “Preferences,” the place you’ll discover a menu choice for “Media.” Inside that menu, there may be an choice to toggle video playback in your Feed and in Tales. Choose the “By no means” choice.
The short path: Settings > Preferences > Media > Video Playback > By no means.
On the Instagram app, faucet your profile image within the bottom-right nook. When you’re in your profile web page, faucet the menu icon within the higher proper nook of your display screen (it’s the icon with three horizontal strains). Then, scroll to “Settings and exercise,” then navigate to “Your app and media,” the place you’ll discover “Media high quality.” From there, you possibly can toggle on the choice to “Use much less mobile information.”
This isn’t as foolproof as a “don’t autoplay content material” setting, however it can at the least sluggish issues down in the event you’re off Wi-Fi. Instagram additionally gained’t autoplay sounds until you click on on a submit with sound first.
The short path: Profile > Settings and exercise > Your app and media > Media high quality > Use much less mobile information.
X (Twitter)
On X, navigate to your profile image within the high left to entry the sidebar (on desktop, the sidebar is already seen). Then, choose “Settings and privateness” — this will likely be in smaller font on the backside of the menu on the app, and on cell, you need to faucet the three dots on the finish of the listing to convey up extra choices, which incorporates “Settings and privateness.” Subsequent, scroll right down to “Accessibility, show, and languages,” which can open one other menu with a “Knowledge utilization” choice, the place you possibly can flip off “Video autoplay.”
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You will be additional thorough by navigating again to “Settings and privateness” and deciding on “Show and sound.” There, you possibly can toggle off “Media previews.”
The short path: Settings and privateness > Accessibility, show, and languages > Knowledge utilization > Video autoplay, and Settings and privateness > Show and sound > Media previews.
Bluesky
Entry Bluesky’s menu by tapping the three-line icon within the higher left nook of the cell app, then select “Settings” on the backside of the listing. On desktop, this menu is accessible through the sidebar. Choose “Content material and media,” which can show choices that embody “Autoplay movies and GIFs.” Toggle this selection off.
The short path: Settings > Content material and media > Autoplay movies and GIFs.
Threads
Sadly, Meta’s two-year-old microblogging platform doesn’t but provide a approach to flip off autoplay. Hopefully, that’s on the product roadmap.
