Google has released Chrome 66, a long awaited browser update that automatically mutes autoplaying content on the web.<\/b>
\nFor years, red-faced web users have been frantically reaching for the volume keys when casually browsing the web, but no more.
The new release for Windows, Mac and Linux builds on Chrome 64, which enabled users to tap a \u201cmute\u201d tab\u201d to permanently silence the audio on a particular web page.
Now, in Chrome 66, that muting is automatically enabled, meaning users will need to activate the sound themselves within videos.
Meanwhile, VentureBeat reports, autoplaying videos that don\u2019t have the sound muted just don\u2019t play at all.
When it announced the feature, Google said it negated \u201cone of the most frequent user concerns,\u201d which \u201ccan use data, consume power, and make unwanted noise while browsing.\u201d
Part of Google\u2019s strategy involves its Media Engagement Index, which determines whether the web user has played video with sound on that site previously.
So, for example, when browsing sites like YouTube, users still may see video autoplaying with sound.
Those websites able to slip past Google\u2019s auto blocking can still be manually muted by the user.
Here\u2019s how Google explains the feature on its developers site:
Muted autoplay is always allowed.
Autoplay with sound is allowed if:
In total, Chrome 66 also fixes 62 security bugs.<\/p>\n

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