Not all users have the same preferences for autoplay media, so Google has looked at letting users mute and unmute entire websites — we first heard the company was experimenting with such an option last month. This is now part of the browser’s roadmap.
Chrome 63 will add a new user option to completely disable audio for individual sites. This site-muting option will persist between browsing sessions, allowing users to customize when and where audio will play.
Chrome 64 will take the controls to the next level. By this version, Google’s browser will allow autoplay to occur only when users want media to play.
The company justifies this new approach by saying that while “autoplay can make it faster and easier to consume on the web,” unexpected media playback is also “one of the most frequent user concerns” because it “can use data, consume power, and make unwanted noise while browsing.”
