YouTube’s autoplay feature is designed to keep you watching by automatically loading and playing a related video the moment your current video ends. While this can be useful for background music, it is often disruptive when watching educational content, tutorials, or documentaries. It can also consume massive amounts of mobile data if you fall asleep while a video is playing. Fortunately, you can permanently disable autoplay across all your devices.
How to Turn Off Autoplay on the YouTube Website (Desktop)
Disabling autoplay on your computer is incredibly simple and can be done directly from the video player.
- Open your web browser and navigate to YouTube.com.
- Click on any video to begin playing it.
- Hover your mouse cursor over the video player to reveal the control bar at the bottom.
- Look for the small toggle switch located near the bottom right of the player, just to the left of the closed captions (CC) button.
- Click the Autoplay toggle. When turned off, the switch will display a pause symbol rather than a play symbol.
Because this preference is tied to your Google account via browser cookies, YouTube will remember your choice for all future videos you watch on that specific computer and browser.
How to Turn Off Autoplay on the YouTube Mobile App (iOS & Android)
If you primarily watch videos on your smartphone or tablet, you must disable the feature separately within the mobile app settings.
- Open the YouTube app on your iPhone, iPad, or Android device.
- Tap your Profile picture in the bottom right corner of the screen.
- Tap the Gear icon in the top right corner to open the Settings menu.
- Select Autoplay from the list of options.
- Toggle the switch next to Mobile phone/tablet to the Off position (the switch will turn grey).
How to Turn Off Autoplay on Smart TVs and Consoles
If you use the YouTube app on an Apple TV, Roku, Xbox, PlayStation, or Smart TV, the setting is located in a slightly different place.
- Launch the YouTube app on your television or console.
- Navigate to the left-hand sidebar menu.
- Scroll down to the bottom and select the Settings gear icon.
- Scroll right and select the Autoplay tile.
- Select Off to prevent the next video from starting automatically.
By adjusting this setting across your devices, you regain complete control over your viewing experience, ensuring that YouTube only plays the specific videos you explicitly choose to watch.