As
you may have noticed, your Facebook News Feed recently began
auto-playing videos. This can be annoying on a PC and downright harmful
on your mobile device, as it can eat up your data or drain your device’s
battery. However, you can disable the auto-play feature on PC and
Android devices and save yourself the hassle.
To disable auto-play videos on your mobile device, you’ll need to
access the Facebook application ‘Settings.’ (The image below shows the
settings on a Samsung Galaxy S4.) From here, check the box under
“General Settings” for “Auto-play videos on Wi-Fi only.” The box is
unchecked by default, which means videos will continue auto-playing on
your Android device until you tell it not to. Unfortunately, you can’t
completely turn off the feature on a mobile device, but you can save
yourself some precious data.
Facebook’s Help Center topic addressing the issue
explains how to make the edit on an iPhone or iPad.
To turn off auto-play on your personal computer, go to “Settings,”
then the “Video” tab at the bottom of the left hand navigation. From
there, you can select the drop-down menu next to “Auto-Play Videos” and
select “Off.” It’s important to note that you need to change the
settings on both your phone and PC if you want to disable it, and that
the changes don’t translate from one platform to another.
What do you think about the Auto-play feature? Facebook is encouraging users to provide
feedback here.