Why Disable Autoplay Videos?
As you scroll through the Google Play Store looking for new apps or games, you will frequently encounter promotional videos embedded at the top of app listings. By default, the Play Store automatically begins playing these videos as soon as they appear on your screen. While these trailers can give you a good idea of gameplay or app features, they also consume a significant amount of mobile data and can unexpectedly blast loud audio if your phone’s media volume is turned up. If you want to conserve your data plan, extend your battery life, or simply browse the store in silence, you should completely disable the video autoplay feature.
How to Turn Off Autoplay in the Play Store Settings
You can easily disable this behavior directly within the Play Store’s network preferences. This change applies globally to all app listings you view while signed into that Google account on that specific device.
- Open the Google Play Store app on your Android smartphone or tablet.
- Tap your Profile Picture (or initial) located in the top right corner of the screen, inside the search bar.
- From the pop-up menu, select Settings.
- Tap to expand the Network preferences section.
- Tap on Auto-play videos.
Choosing the Right Setting
A small dialog box will appear presenting you with three distinct options:
- Auto-play videos at any time: This is the default setting. Videos will play using Wi-Fi or your cellular data.
- Auto-play videos over Wi-Fi only: If you enjoy the videos but just want to save your cellular data plan, this is a good compromise. Videos will only load when you have a stable Wi-Fi connection.
- Don’t auto-play videos: Select this option to turn the feature off completely.
Tap the radio button next to Don’t auto-play videos, and then tap OK. From now on, when you visit an app listing, the promotional video will display as a static thumbnail with a standard play button. The video will only begin playing (and consuming data) if you explicitly tap that button to watch it.