How to block pop-ups and annoying auto-play videos

This article has been updated. Originally published on February 14, 2018.

You clicked on an article link - suddenly your speaker rang. A pop-up appears on the screen and you accidentally move your mouse over an ad, and the ad suddenly starts, an unavoidable auto-play video follows you as you scroll down the page. You must turn off these interferences before you can see what you want.

Luckily, the most popular web browsers all have settings that help you eliminate unwanted noise. If these settings don't work, you can control them using third-party add-ons. Here are how to restore calm in Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and Microsoft Edge.

Google Chrome

Google's browser comes with a powerful first line of defense: the ability to mute specific tabs. When the page starts playing sound, a small speaker icon will appear on the page tab, to the right of the "X". If you see the icon, right-click the tab and select Mutrify the website . This will immediately close the page and change the noisy icon to a mute speaker with strikethrough.

You can also use this option as a preemptive move, mute the page before it starts making noise. Once completed, any page that shares the same domain name (such as popsci.com) will be launched with the mute option. To unmute, right-click the muted tab and select Unmute website .

Autoplay

To be truly ahead of noisy interference, you need to prevent the video from playing automatically. For years (since version 64), Chrome automatically disables autoplay unless the video has been muted or the user has indicated a specific interest in watching the video.

Despite this precaution, some autoplay videos may still appear secretly on your screen. To block them, you must adjust Chrome's settings. Unfortunately, there is no specific setting for autoplay, but there is a setting that prevents all websites from playing sounds. Click the three dots in the upper right corner of the browser window, click Settings, Privacy and Security, Website Settings, and then scroll down to Other content Set . Click the option to expand the list, and then click Sound. Finally, select to not allow the website to play the sound next to . Once this feature is enabled, the videos may still play, but they will be muted, and if you want to hear sounds on sites like YouTube, you must right-click on the tab and select Unmute the website .

If you don't want to play videos at all (maybe you're worried that old embeds will turn into something that doesn't work), you must download a third-party Chrome extension such as AutoplayStopper or Disable HTML5.

Notification

When the website sends you a notification, Chrome will display it on the screen. This allows applications like Gmail that run on the network to contact you. While this is a good idea in theory, in practice it allows all websites to bother you with interruptions and alerts. However, they will ask for your consent first.

[Related: 5 Google Chrome Tips to Make Browsing Easier]

You can reject them separately when the website requests to send you notifications. Alternatively, you can automatically reject all these requests and opt out entirely: Go back to Chrome's settings, find Privacy and Security, open Site Settings, and click Notification 🎜>. Then use the circle at the top of the page to universally set how the website sends notifications, and use the options below to further customize how the alerts work.

### Popup window

The persistent pop-up is annoying. To suppress them, first open Chrome's settings. Click Privacy and Security, then click Website Settings, and then click Popups and Redirects. Finally, click to not allow the website to send popups or use the circle next to redirect .

If there are still some popups appear, please seek help from third-party extensions. The two best in the industry are Pop Up Blocker for Chrome and uBlocker. The two are similar: They allow you to browse the website without interruption and send you notifications when they compress popups.

Mozilla Firefox

To mute the page in Firefox, find the tab page where the audio is being played (it will show playing ) and move the cursor over it to display the audio icon. Click the icon once. Click again to allow the audio again. Alternatively, you can get the same result by right-clicking on the tab title and selecting Mutting the tab page .

Autoplay

This solution will prevent tabs from surpriseing you with music and other unexpected sounds – but the video that generates noise will continue to play. To turn off automatic video playback, go to the Firefox main menu (three lines in the upper right corner), click Set , Privacy and Security, and scroll down to Permissions. Find Autoplay and click the Settings button to the right of it. Finally, select Block Audio and Video from the drop-down menu at the top of the dialog box.

### Notification

Like Chrome, Firefox allows websites to bother you with alerts—after asking if you want to allow or block notifications from each site. You can also change these permissions. To revoke permissions for a specific domain, open the Firefox menu as before, select Set , and then select Privacy and Security. Go down to Permissions, find Notification, and click the Settings button to the right of it. The next dialog box allows you to view and manage websites that have requested to send notifications to you.

Firefox also allows you to do so if you want to close these requests before they appear. From the same Notification Settings dialog window, just check the box next to Block new requests to allow notifications .

Pop-up window

Firefox can close most unwanted popups for you. To block them, open the Firefox menu and click Settings and then click Privacy and Security. Find the Permissions title and check the box marked to block popups .

If the website manages to bypass Firefox’s built-in protection, download third-party add-ons to control popups. Simple Popup Blocker Ultimate should be able to handle any popups that Firefox misses, while simpler Strict Pop-up Blocker does not allow any type of popups to pass.

Apple Safari

If the website plays audio in Safari, you will see a speaker icon appearing in the address bar. Click the icon to mute the current tab page, or use Option to mute all background tab pages (the tab page you click will retain its current status: mute or unmute). You can do the same for the speaker icons visible to the right of each tab.

### Autoplay

To handle automatic playback videos, go to the menu bar at the top of the screen, click Safari, and select Preferences, and select Website. Click Autoplay, scroll down to when visiting other websites, and select from the drop-down menu next to it to never play. You will also see a list above the option when visiting other websites, which you can edit to exclude certain websites from this totally prohibited.

You can also set autoplay options for specific websites. Open a website in your browser, click the Safari menu, and select Settings for this website. A dialog box will appear with the drop-down menu next to Autoplay . Use this menu to choose between all videos, no videos, or only silent videos.

Notification

To display notifications and push alerts, the website must request permission from you. You can turn off all these permissions in one fell swoop: Open the

Safari menu and select Preferences, then select Website, and finally select Notification. Here, uncheck the box marked to allow the website to request a notification . In the same menu, Safari also allows you to change notification permissions for individual websites.

Pop-up window

Safari should automatically handle most unwanted popup boxes that appear. To ensure that the pop-up prevents the program from being active, open the

Safari menu, select Preferences, click Website, and find the pop-up , and then select Block or Block and notify from the drop-down menu in the lower right corner.

[Related: 5 Advanced Safari Tips to Improve Your Browsing Experience]

Because Safari has less extensions than Chrome and Firefox, you will find that there are fewer add-ons that deal with the popups that Safari misses. However, Adblock does work with Safari. In addition to blocking popups, it can help you manage unwanted ads and other distractions – remember to whitelist your favorite sites so they can still earn ad revenue.

Microsoft Edge

Last but not least, in a browser built in Windows 10, an audio icon appears on the title of any tab that plays sound. You can mute the page by clicking this icon or right-clicking the tab and selecting the

Mutting tab Menu option.

### Autoplay

If your entire memory of Microsoft browser is bulky old Internet Explorer, you might be surprised by Edge. Since its first launch, it has added more features, including the ability to limit the automatic playback of videos. Click the main Edge menu (three dots) in the upper right corner to find

Settings , Cookies, and Website Permissions and Media Autoplay. In the next drop-down menu, you have only two options: Limit and Allow. Restricting autoplay means that the video may still play, depending on how you used the page in the past and whether you have interacted with any media.

### Notification

Like other browsers, the website must request your permission before it can display notifications on your screen. If you have granted permissions to a specific website, you can always change your mind. Click the menu button in the upper right corner, click Set, and select Cookies and Website Permissions. Scroll down to Notification and turn off the toggle next to before sending . This will block all notifications. You can also manage the websites you want to whitelist and receive notifications.

### Popup window

Edge also has an integrated pop-up blocker. Return to the above mentioned Cookies and Website Permissions menu, and click the

pop-up window and redirect . Your browser may have blocked them by default, but turn them on if the toggle next to Block is turned off. If you want to back up Edge's built-in pop-up defenses, you'll be limited by the fact that Edge is younger and doesn't have many add-ons (you can browse existing add-ons here). One of the few add-ons you can consider is Adblock, which we mentioned in the Safari section. This can block any popups that Edge can't block, and it can also block other distracting ads - although you should allow the website you want to support to pass the filter.

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