There are occasions when chances are you’ll need to stop movies and GIFs from robotically taking part in in your social media feeds. This could possibly be since you’re making an attempt to preserve mobile information, restrict the addictiveness of those apps, or preserve higher management over your viewing expertise, as when a video goes viral that you simply don’t want to see. Regardless of the motive is perhaps, listed below are the steps to show off autoplaying movies and GIFs on standard 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 cellular 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’s an choice to toggle video playback in your Feed and in Tales. Choose the “By no means” choice.
The fast 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 may 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’s going to at the very least sluggish issues down if you happen to’re off Wi-Fi. Instagram additionally received’t autoplay sounds until you click on on a publish with sound first.
The fast 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 probably be in smaller font on the backside of the menu on the app, and on cellular, 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 is able to open one other menu with a “Knowledge utilization” choice, the place you may flip off “Video autoplay.”
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You might be further thorough by navigating again to “Settings and privateness” and choosing “Show and sound.” There, you may toggle off “Media previews.”
The fast 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 cellular 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 is able to show choices that embrace “Autoplay movies and GIFs.” Toggle this feature off.
The fast path: Settings > Content material and media > Autoplay movies and GIFs.
Threads
Sadly, Meta’s two-year-old microblogging platform doesn’t but supply a strategy to flip off autoplay. Hopefully, that’s on the product roadmap.