When you perform a search on Google using your smartphone, the results page often includes a “Videos” carousel. If you scroll past these video results, Google will automatically begin playing a silent preview of the video directly on the search results page. While this feature is designed to help you quickly identify if a video is relevant to your query, it can consume a significant amount of mobile data and be visually distracting.
If you prefer a static, quiet search experience and want to save your cellular bandwidth, you can disable these auto-playing video previews directly within the Google app or your mobile browser settings.
How to Turn Off Video Previews in the Google App (iOS/Android)
If you primarily search the web using the dedicated “Google” app on your iPhone or Android device, follow these steps:
- Open the Google app on your device.
- Tap your Profile Picture (or initial) in the top right corner of the screen.
- Select Settings from the drop-down menu.
- Tap on General.
- Scroll down and tap on Autoplay video previews.
- You will be presented with three options: “Always,” “Wi-Fi only,” and “Never.”
- Select Never to completely disable the feature. (Alternatively, choose “Wi-Fi only” if you just want to save cellular data but still enjoy the previews at home).
How to Turn Off Video Previews in Mobile Browsers (Chrome/Safari)
If you search by typing directly into the address bar of your mobile web browser (like Google Chrome or Safari) rather than using the dedicated Google app, the setting is located on the Google search results page itself.
- Open your mobile browser and navigate to Google.com.
- Perform any random search (e.g., “cats”).
- On the search results page, tap the three horizontal lines (hamburger menu) in the top left corner of the screen.
- Select Settings (or “Search settings”).
- Scroll down to the “Video” section.
- Under the “Autoplay” heading, select the option for Do not autoplay.
- Scroll to the very bottom of the page and click the blue Save button.
From now on, whenever a video appears in your Google Search results, it will remain as a static thumbnail image until you intentionally click on it.