So you’re scrolling through FACEBOOK and videos start playing automatically with sound blasting, eating your data, and draining your battery?? You go into settings and turn off auto-play but videos KEEP playing automatically anyway…
What the fuck is wrong with this?!
And the annoying part? You’ve disabled auto-play like 5 times but Facebook ignores the setting. Videos still auto-play when you scroll past them, wasting your mobile data and being loud as hell in public 🙁
I’m not gonna lie, Facebook’s auto-play settings are deliberately confusing and don’t always work properly because they WANT you watching videos.
How to Actually Turn Off Auto-Play
Facebook has auto-play settings in MULTIPLE places and you need to disable them ALL. Just changing one isn’t enough deadass.
Disable Auto-Play in App Settings
iPhone/iPad: Open Facebook app → tap Menu (three lines, bottom right) → tap Settings & Privacy → tap Settings → scroll down to Preferences → tap Media → tap Video Playback or Autoplay → select Never or Never Autoplay Videos.
Android: Open Facebook app → tap Menu (three lines, top right) → tap Settings & Privacy → tap Settings → scroll to Preferences → tap Media → tap Autoplay → select Never Autoplay Videos.
This should be enough but it’s not…
Facebook has OTHER auto-play settings for specific video types (Stories, Reels, Watch) that this doesn’t cover. Keep reading bet.
Disable Auto-Play on Desktop/Browser
Desktop has its OWN auto-play setting separate from mobile.
Go to facebook.com → click down arrow (top right) → Settings & Privacy → Settings → click Videos in left sidebar → under Auto-Play Videos select Off.
If you use Facebook in a browser on your phone, you need to set this SEPARATELY from the app setting. They don’t sync no cap.
Turn Off Cellular Data for Facebook Videos
If auto-play won’t stay off, at LEAST stop it from using your mobile data.
iPhone: Settings → Facebook → toggle off Cellular Data OR go to Facebook app settings → Media → Autoplay → select On Wi-Fi Connections Only.
Android: Settings → Apps → Facebook → Mobile data → toggle off OR in Facebook app → Autoplay → select Wi-Fi only.
This doesn’t STOP auto-play but prevents it from burning through your data plan when you’re not on WiFi.
At least saves your data…
Why Auto-Play Keeps Turning Back On
You disable auto-play but after a few days or weeks, videos start auto-playing again. What the hell?
Facebook app updates reset settings. When Facebook pushes an update, it sometimes resets auto-play back to default (which is ON). You have to manually turn it off again after updates fr fr.
Different video types have different settings. Regular feed videos, Stories, Reels, and Watch videos each have their own auto-play behavior. Turning off auto-play for feed videos doesn’t affect Stories/Reels.
Cache is corrupted. App data glitched and the auto-play setting isn’t saving properly. Similar to Facebook taking up too much storage, cache needs clearing.
You’re using multiple devices. Settings don’t sync between devices. If you turn off auto-play on your phone but use Facebook on your computer, the computer still has auto-play ON.
Disable Auto-Play for Stories and Reels
Stories and Reels have THEIR OWN auto-play settings that are separate from regular videos. This is bullshit but here’s how to fix it:
For Stories: When viewing a Story, tap the screen → tap the three dots (top right) → look for Story Settings or audio controls. Unfortunately Facebook doesn’t have a universal “never auto-play Stories” setting – you have to tap each Story to play it manually.
For Reels: Reels are DESIGNED to auto-play continuously. There’s no setting to disable this. Your only option is to avoid the Reels tab entirely or scroll past Reels in your feed immediately without stopping on them.
Facebook forces Reels auto-play…
This is intentional. Facebook WANTS Reels to auto-play because it keeps you engaged longer. They won’t let you disable it lowkey.
Clear Facebook App Cache
Corrupted cache can prevent the auto-play setting from saving.
Android: Settings → Apps → Facebook → Storage → Clear Cache (NOT Clear Data).
iPhone: iOS doesn’t have cache clearing. Delete the app and reinstall: Long-press Facebook app → Remove App → Delete App → reinstall from App Store.
After clearing cache/reinstalling, go back into settings and disable auto-play again. The fresh cache should save the setting properly this time.
Use Browser Instead of App
The Facebook mobile website (m.facebook.com) respects auto-play settings better than the app in some cases.
Use Safari, Chrome, or Firefox to access m.facebook.com → log in → go to Settings → Videos → set Auto-Play to Off.
The mobile web version has less aggressive auto-play behavior than the app. It’s not as feature-rich but at least videos won’t blast sound at you randomly.
Mute Your Phone
If you CAN’T stop videos from auto-playing, at least stop the SOUND from playing.
Most auto-play videos on Facebook start muted IF your phone is on silent/vibrate mode. Switch your phone to silent and auto-play videos will play without sound.
At least it’s quiet…
Not a real solution but a workaround when Facebook’s settings refuse to work properly for real.
Block Video-Heavy Pages and Groups
If you’re getting tons of auto-play videos from specific pages or groups, unfollow them.
Pages that post mostly videos = more auto-play content in your feed. Unfollow those pages and your feed will have fewer videos trying to auto-play.
Go through your followed pages and groups, unfollow anything that posts video spam. This reduces the overall number of auto-playing videos you encounter.
Why Facebook Won’t Let You Disable It
Real talk? Facebook WANTS videos to auto-play. Auto-play = more video views = more ad revenue for them.
This is absolute bullshit…
That’s why the setting is buried in menus, why it resets after updates, why Reels can’t be disabled. Facebook prioritizes their revenue over your user experience, data usage, and battery life.
Compare this to YouTube which has a simple “auto-play on/off” toggle that ACTUALLY WORKS. Facebook’s implementation is intentionally bad because they don’t want you turning it off.
And the worst part? Auto-play videos count as “views” even if you scroll past them in 0.5 seconds. So Facebook can tell advertisers “our videos get billions of views!” when most are unwatched auto-plays. It’s misleading as hell.
If you’re also dealing with Facebook videos not playing when you actually WANT to watch them, that’s extra ironic – auto-play works perfectly but manual playback is broken lol.
Use Data Saver Mode
Facebook has a “Data Saver” mode that limits auto-play and reduces video quality to save data.
Go to Settings → Media or Media and Contacts → enable Data Saver or Less Data mode.
This doesn’t fully stop auto-play but makes it less aggressive. Videos will load slower and at lower quality, using less data and battery.
Report Auto-Play Not Working
If you’ve disabled auto-play but it keeps happening, report it as a bug.
Go to Settings → Help & Support → Report a Problem → explain that auto-play won’t turn off despite the setting being disabled.
Will Facebook fix it? Probably not bet. But enough reports might make them address it eventually. And if there’s other Facebook loading issues, it might be related to broader app problems.
Alternative: Use Third-Party Apps
Third-party Facebook apps like “Friendly” or “Swipe for Facebook” often have better auto-play control than the official app.
These apps are basically Facebook wrappers with extra features. Many let you completely disable auto-play for ALL content types.
Downside? You’re giving your Facebook login to a third party. Only use well-reviewed apps from trusted developers. And your Facebook notifications might not work properly in third-party apps.
Final Thoughts
Facebook’s auto-play settings are deliberately hard to find and don’t always work because Facebook profits from video auto-play. But disabling it in Settings → Media → Autoplay, clearing cache, and using Data Saver mode helps reduce it.
It shouldn’t be this difficult…
For Reels and Stories, there’s no real solution – Facebook forces auto-play on those. Your best options are using the mobile website instead of the app, keeping your phone on silent, or using third-party Facebook apps with better controls.
And honestly, Facebook should respect user preferences instead of prioritizing ad revenue. Let people disable auto-play COMPLETELY across all video types. Stop resetting the setting after updates. Make it easy to find and use no cap.
If this helped you deal with Facebook’s annoying auto-play videos, share it with anyone else sick of videos blasting sound while they’re scrolling… because this problem affects everyone and Facebook makes it way harder to fix than it should be!!
