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Google’s attempt to block autoplay videos had an unwanted effect, as it disabled the sound of web games. Therefore, the company felt the need to fix the situation, so it rolled out another update. The new changes remove the previous ones that prevented games from running on web.
Autoplay blocking also disabled the audio of web games
At the beginning of this month, Google decided to address the most upsetting browsing issue. Many webpages contained autoplay videos that disturbed one’s internet experience, so the company decided to silence them. Most of these autoplay features were ads that users didn’t really want to see. Therefore, they disabled all these sounds whenever someone launched a page.
However, this change initially targeted only ads, but it ended up affecting others as well. Most web games cannot run without sound, and users generally agree to sounds playing in the background when they access such pages. Google didn’t make this difference, so it ended up blocking the sound of the games as well.
Google listened to the feedback and gave back the sound to web games
After web game developers have expressed their disagreement to the latest Google update, the platform took immediate measures. Therefore, on Tuesday, it removed the update that disabled the audio on autoplay.
Google’s attempt to reduce the intrusiveness of websites is actually a good thing for users. They are always looking for a nice browsing experience without ads that are being too pushy. However, this is a great disadvantage for advertisers, as well as for web game developers.
After receiving feedback, Google had to admit it made a mistake. It admitted it should have let all developers know the new changes, and they could have found a solution together. For the moment, autoplay is allowed again, but the company is working to fix this. It has already started putting up a list of websites where people usually let the audio on, and these sites won’t be subject to a future audio blocking.
You asked and we listened. Chrome 66 has been updated to temporarily remove the auto play policy for Web-Audio
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— sMyle (@MylesBorins) May 15, 2018
Image source: Pixabay
