When you scroll through your timeline on the Twitter (X) app on your iPhone, any video or animated GIF that appears on your screen will automatically begin playing. While this makes the timeline feel dynamic and alive, it can rapidly drain your iPhone’s battery and burn through your monthly cellular data allowance if you follow accounts that post a lot of heavy media. Additionally, unexpected audio can be embarrassing if your phone is not on silent. If you prefer to have full control over what media consumes your bandwidth, you can easily disable the video autoplay feature.
How to Turn Off Video Autoplay
You can restrict video playback directly from the app’s internal data settings.
- Open the X (formerly Twitter) app on your iPhone.
- Tap on your profile picture in the top-left corner of the screen to open the side menu.
- Tap on Settings and Support at the bottom of the menu to expand it.
- Tap on Settings and privacy.
- Scroll down the menu and tap on Accessibility, display, and languages.
- Tap on Data usage.
- Look under the “Video” section and tap on Video autoplay.
- You will see three options: Cellular or Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi only, and Never. Tap on Never to completely disable the feature.
When you return to your timeline, videos and GIFs will now remain frozen as static thumbnail images. They will only begin playing, and consuming your mobile data, when you explicitly tap on them with your finger.