You sometimes come across them: websites that automatically start playing sound as soon as you visit them. It immediately takes you out of concentration and startles everyone around you. On desktop browsers, you can easily mute tabs to stop that. How can you counter that on Google Chrome on Android? We explain it step by step.
Google Chrome
Chrome on Android allows websites to play sound by default. This usually happens with videos on news websites. If you’re waiting for that, there’s nothing to worry about. Nevertheless, there is a good chance that it also happens regularly if it is not desired and the video does not contribute to the browsing action, for example. For example, news sites like US CNN try to get your attention through pop-up videos that automatically start playing when a news article is opened.
Do you know which sites have been and don’t want them to start playing sound automatically from now on? Unfortunately, it’s not possible to easily mute a tab – instead, you have to make the decision to completely mute a website. That way you will no longer hear any sound from the site, but this does have one important disadvantage. If you later start a video on that website yourself, the volume will remain muted. This function is therefore more intended for websites of which you do not want to hear any sounds in their entirety.
Mute websites in Chrome
Of course, you don’t have to mute RealMi Central in Google Chrome; we won’t ‘overwhelm’ you with videos that start playing right away. For the example below, we use Facebook – which websites you would like to mute depends on the websites you like to visit. Chrome for Android (version 92) was used for the steps described below.
- Open Google Chrome on Android
- Click on the three dots at the top right
- Navigate to Settings
- Under Advanced go to Site Settings
- Scroll down until you see Sound, click on it
- Then select the Add Site Exceptions option
- Enter the website URL (e.g. www.facebook.com) and click Save
Websites that are entered as exceptions are therefore muted and can no longer play sound. You can always remove them later as an exception. Chrome will allow the website to play sound again.
