# Firefox: Stopping autoplay of media content **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 14, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefox-stopping-autoplay-of-media-content/618799 "2012-04-14T23:15:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2012, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefox-stopping-autoplay-of-media-content/618799/1 "2012-04-14T23:15:19Z")
Somehow I have set up Safari so that if there’s a Flash video on a website, it doesn’t load the video until I double click on it. I find I like this, because videos don’t start loading or playing until I’m ready for it. Is there any way I can do this on Mozilla Firefox too? ---
**Author:** ![Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marconi_N.Cheese)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefox-stopping-autoplay-of-media-content/618799/2 "2012-04-15T00:04:39Z")
I use an add-on called [Flashblock](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/flashblock/). It does exactly what you want. I don’t think Firefox can do this by itself. You can block all Flash, but that’s not what most people want. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefox-stopping-autoplay-of-media-content/618799/3 "2012-04-15T02:00:16Z")
I also use and recommend Flashblock, but with reservations. Be warned that it no longer reliably blocks all Flash (for instance many Flash ads on [slate.com](http://slate.com) somehow get around it). Some time ago, I complained to the distributors of Flashblock about this and got a reply acknowledging the reality of the problem but then going on to complain about how difficult it would be to fix it. It has not been fixed, and my impression is that Flashblock-proof Flash is now getting more common. Also, not all autoplaying stuff relies on Flash anyway, and as use of HTML 5 spreads, that is likely to become more and more widely the case. The days of Flashblock’s usefulness may be numbered. ---
**Author:** ![benbo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@benbo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/benbo1)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefox-stopping-autoplay-of-media-content/618799/4 "2012-04-15T08:43:38Z")
NoScript - it simply stops all scripts from running on any loaded page, and u must grant permissions for either items or the whole page to enable. Not as bad as it sounds, once u do it once, it stix. I like the controlability. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2012, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefox-stopping-autoplay-of-media-content/618799/5 "2012-04-15T12:40:53Z")
Yes. I can confirm it too, some people have discovered some sort of parameter that makes Youtube videos play, even with Flashblock. You will need Noscript actively blocking the domain to be sure. Sucks, because I liked allowing Youtube in Noscript, but having Flashblock active to allow me to decide when to start the video. Maybe the Flashblock people will fix that exploit. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2012, 9:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/firefox-stopping-autoplay-of-media-content/618799/6 "2012-04-16T09:06:21Z")
Mozilla has announced that this capability will be ‘built-in’ to future versions of the browser, with options for people to enable or disable it, exceptions for specific sites, etc. A partial version of it is available in beta releases.