Open Bug 1681603 (autoplay-block-bypass) Opened 4 years ago Updated 5 months ago

media autoplay block not working on some sites

Categories

(Core :: Audio/Video: Playback, defect)

Product:
Core
Component:
Audio/Video: Playback
Version:
Firefox 83
Type:
defect

Tracking

()

Status:
UNCONFIRMED

People

(Reporter: amberjalink, Unassigned)

References

(Depends on 1 open bug)

Details

User Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows NT 10.0; Win64; x64; rv:83.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/83.0

Steps to reproduce:

Settings Autoplay BLOCK AUDIO AND VIDEO
Go to https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/mild-end-to-the-week-in-southern-ontario-eyes-on-a-looming-texas-low-that-threatens-heavy-snow-freezing-rain

(or any of their pages with video)

Actual results:

video and audio plays INSTANTLY!

Expected results:

Video and audio should have been blocked from auto-starting.
It ALWAYS starts. Most other sites block properly, but this site has always managed to bypass the setting no matter what. (I had to go into about:config to manually change media autoplay settings to stop it). I shouldn't have to do that.

I couldn't manage to reproduce this issue, I tried on Windows 10 x64 and on MacOS 10.14 on Firefox 83.0 and on Firefox Nightly 85.0a1.
Could you please try to follow the basic troubleshooting steps. These can solve almost every problem.
https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/wiki/support/troubleshooting

Flags: needinfo?(amberjalink)

Bugbug thinks this bug should belong to this component, but please revert this change in case of error.

Component: Untriaged → Audio/Video: Playback
Product: Firefox → Core

I ended up here looking for a fix to autoplay still happening as well. I did not experience it on the URL the OP gave but it does happen on other sites, for example: https://www.livescience.com/megasatellite-colony-ceres-oneill-cylinder.html

Halfway down the page is a video and it will start playing once you reach it. I read on a post somewhere that the block doesn't work if you interact with the page. Is scrolling considered interacting? If so, then I guess I need to enter a feature request to block that too. Even if I scroll to the video spot, refresh the page, and let the refresh automatically go back to that spot it still plays. But maybe the feature of reloading back to where you left off is still considered interacting with the page.

It would be really nice if there was a simple "block" that really just blocked it in any scenario and required interaction with the actual control to make it play. I did also set media.autoplay.blocking_policy to 1 and 2 but the behavior still happens. My media.autoplay.default is currently set to 5 and the domain is not in the exceptions list. I'm using FF Developer 85.0b9 although it happens in FF 84.0.1, too

This bug is not fixed.

I have videos / autoplay blocked. It just surprisingly started on CNN!
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/02/tech/robocall-prevention-stir-shaken/index.html

Give it a minute or two (scroll down) and it suddenly starts playing the video.

Additionally: https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/weather/ontario/woodstock

Here's how to replicate this one:
Scroll down, you'll see the video. Keep scrolling a bit more till it opens to a "smaller video" on the lower right hand side.
CLOSE THAT video.... when you scroll back up, most of the time (not every time, but absolutely most) the main video will start playing.

(Also there is ALWAYS a bar across the top that claims firefox is trying to install something needed on the page... it's always there, it never goes away, so no clue what it's "trying to install").

I've just hit this too on this page: https://www.lifewire.com/one-to-many-relationships-1019756

With Firefox set to Block both audio and video, after a few seconds on this page, scrolling down will trigger a popup video to play.

Looking at the JS console, it complains with a warning that autoplay is disabled without user interaction, but whatever player they have has apparently managed to find a way around this. What fun, I sure do love websites shoving media in my face, that'll make me want to engage!

Anyway, I found a thread where someone mentioned the setting media.autoplay.blocking_policy. Setting this value to 2 blocks all autoplay with or without user "interaction", and fixed this on my end.

What is considered "interaction" I think is the core issue as was mentioned in an earlier comment. For whatever reason I think Firefox has deemed that scrolling a page is "interaction" enough that autoplay should be allowed. I don't agree with this assessment. Autoplay interaction has far too much leniency and my understanding is the initial purpose of even allowing it at all is that should a page wish to open a video by pressing a button for instance, it can tie that click to autoplaying the video without requiring the user to press play manually after that as well. This usecase should be allowed, but in no world do I agree that scrolling is an event that constitutes "I want to watch a video!"

Redirect a needinfo that is pending on an inactive user to the triage owner.
:jimm, since the bug has recent activity, could you have a look please?

For more information, please visit BugBot documentation.

Flags: needinfo?(amberjalink) → needinfo?(jmathies)
Flags: needinfo?(jmathies)

Why aren’t people voting? There are zero votes on this bug, which means the submitter did not vote on their own bug report. I will add my vote, because it’s an extremely annoying bug -- and it costs me money because I’m on a limited connection. When I visit Ars Technica:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/06/making-energy-smart-bricks-from-recycling-waste/

there is an indicator in the URL field claiming autoplay was blocked, yet the video in the right sidebar plays immediately. This is on FF 115.10.0 esr.

Note another bug was opened up that resembles the bug herein → https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1824180
also https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1871919

(In reply to ed from comment #7)

Why aren’t people voting? There are zero votes on this bug, which means the submitter did not vote on their own bug report. I will add my vote, because it’s an extremely annoying bug -- and it costs me money because I’m on a limited connection. When I visit Ars Technica:

https://arstechnica.com/science/2024/06/making-energy-smart-bricks-from-recycling-waste/

there is an indicator in the URL field claiming autoplay was blocked, yet the video in the right sidebar plays immediately. This is on FF 115.10.0 esr.

Note another bug was opened up that resembles the bug herein → https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1824180
also https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1871919

I agree with you - I never voted on it because I created it... and I was never told that I could vote on my own post. It is still SOOO annoying.

Fenix 131 with Settings->Site permissions->Autoplay->Block all does not block https://www.youtube.com/@yaskawa

Possible fix; about:config's javascript.enabled=false

(In reply to 2002luvabbaluvu from comment #10)

Possible fix; about:config's javascript.enabled=false

Disabling javascript in the browser is not a fix. It's technically a workaround, although not a good one since it will break a vast amount of websites that use javascript... including the entire youtube website.

Fix is javascript.enabled=false + https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1913629#c4

(In reply to 2002luvabbaluvu from comment #13)

Fix is javascript.enabled=false + https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1913629#c4

You're commenting on the wrong bug. And no, that's not a fix. This bug is for the desktop client and it's about audio/video autoplaying when it should not be.

(In reply to uncledude from comment #14)

(In reply to 2002luvabbaluvu from comment #13)

Fix is javascript.enabled=false + https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1913629#c4

You're commenting on the wrong bug. And no, that's not a fix. This bug is for the desktop client and it's about audio/video autoplaying when it should not be.

Oops. True, Termux (the fix from https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1913629#c4 [do notice the "#c4"]) is not for desktop.
about:config's javascript.enabled=false + https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/downthemall/ allows desktop Firefox to control which media executes

Another update... and autoplay is still happening, even though it's supposed to be off. Yet again.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/ - sometimes it autoplays, sometimes it doesn't.

Caught Amazon bypassing (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D4Q1HW27) this.
Due to epilepsy concerns, must browse with javascript.enabled=false

Is bypassing this not a cybercrime? How to report to a consumer protection bureau?

Duplicate of this bug: 1914728
Duplicate of this bug: 1824180
Duplicate of this bug: 1871919
Alias: autoplay-block-bypass
Depends on: 1738727
See Also: → 1811610
Duplicate of this bug: 1908946
See Also: → 1888977
Duplicate of this bug: 1888977

Other than those who wish to reduce bandwidth use, epilepsy sufferers (who can suffer from photogenic or audiogenic seizures if unable to shut autoplay off) constitute another group who wish Firefox fixes about:config 's media.autoplay.default=2 . It is troublesome that you must goto about:config for this; but this does not to work even if you do use about:config to do this.
The graphical menus should have options to do this, but on mobile Firefox the menus (Settings>Site Permissions>Autoplay>Block) can not do this.

The mobile Firefox issue (https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1888977) was closed as "duplicate", thus must assume that desktop Firefox shares mobile Firefox's menus. Unless desktop Firefox has removed most of its menus in the last few years, desktop Firefox should have lots more menus than mobile Firefox has.

The closest to a workaround is about:config 's media.autoplay.blocking_policy=2 (but mobile Firefox does not have about:config)

It is troublesome that you must goto about:config for this

You don't. The default autoplay options are available in the browser settings.

but this does not to work even if you do use about:config to do this.

Yes, that's what this unfixed bug is about

The mobile Firefox issue (bug 1888977) was closed as "duplicate", thus must assume that desktop Firefox shares mobile Firefox's menus.

Firefox for Android has many fewer options, but the autoplay settings are available. bug 1888977 says where to find them right in the first comment: Settings > Site Permissions > Autoplay > Block. Those options control the internal media.autoplay.default pref; you don't need about:config to do this. After making that setting the fact that blocking doesn't always work is indeed a duplicate of this bug because it's the same browser engine handling web content in the same way.

Still having issues... https://www.ctvnews.ca/

Half the time the video autoplays in the corner as you scroll... sometimes it doesn't and errors - but most of the time it is still playing.
This is in the newest Firefox yet again.

Seriously, please fix this.

(In reply to AJ from comment #27)

Still having issues... https://www.ctvnews.ca/

Half the time the video autoplays in the corner as you scroll... sometimes it doesn't and errors - but most of the time it is still playing.
This is in the newest Firefox yet again.

Seriously, please fix this.

i tried it (from europe), and the video is not playing.
maybe the video content is block (canada from europe), maybe autoplay is working fine to block it !
here is my config:
https://ibb.co/3pMTdgm
https://ibb.co/gJgv2mF

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