The version introduces a new method to thwart man-in-the-middle attacks on users through the use of HTTP Public Key Pinning. “To prevent user annoyance and conserve power, Chrome will now defer playback of autoplay videos in background tabs until the first time the tab is foregrounded,” it noted. It comes amid calls by some security experts for Adobe to kill off Flash due to the seriousness of bugs when they are exposed and the fact Flash is widely used, making it a alluring target for hackers.Īlongside the stable release, Google has also rolled out Chrome 46 to beta, which includes a number of security improvements and even more constraints on autoplay videos. Google has said the move is aimed at reducing the impact of Chrome on a computer’s battery life. The stable release coincides with tweaks to Chrome that pause Flash ads that autoplay. Under the Chrome rewards program, researchers can probe the browser for bugs in stable, beta and dev channels but not the earlier canary channel. The company has also set aside additional rewards for researchers that contributed to version’s earlier in the development cycle, which prevented some bugs reaching the stable channel. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.Google’s own internet audits were responsible for finding numerous other bugs. Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade.īefore becoming an analyst in 2020, I spent eight years as a reporter covering consumer tech news. I unbox, set up, test, and review a wide range of consumer tech products from my home in Florida, often with the help of my pitbull Bradley. I'm PCMag's expert on fitness and smart home technology, and I've written more than 6,000 articles and reviews in the 10-plus years I've been here. Vine, Instagram, and Facebook also begin playing videos as soon as they come into view. The move, meanwhile, comes after Twitter in June launched auto-play videos, meaning native videos, Vines, and even GIFs will begin playback automatically as you scroll past-much to the annoyance of some users. A red circle or blue rectangle are also on tabs that use your webcam (like Google Hangouts) or cast to your TV, respectively.
Last year, a browser update added speaker icons to tabs that included sound. On top of just quelling user annoyance, the feature actually conserves power since Chrome will now only consume power to play the video once the tab is in the foreground, he added.Ĭhrome already helps you find noisy tabs. "This means no more 'Where's that sound coming from?' moments when an ad for instance decides to autoplay in a tab you've specifically opened in the background," Beaufort wrote. With this feature, Chrome will still pre-load the video, so it will be all set to go when you're ready, but the browser will delay the start of playback until you click on that tab. At this point, the feature is only available in the latest Chrome Dev build, but will likely make its ways to the Stable version soon. The browser will now "defer playback of autoplay media" until you actually visit that tab, Google's Francois Beaufort announced (Opens in a new window) Wednesday. How annoying is it when that site happens to have a video or ad on it that starts playing automatically? Now you have to stop what you're doing and go over to that tab just to shut up the dang video.įortunately, this shouldn't be an issue with Google Chrome anymore.