Stop Facebook Autoplay Video Sound

This guide shows you how to stop Facebook from automatically playing sound on videos in your News Feed, on both the mobile app and desktop website. You’ll learn the exact settings to change on each platform, plus how to mute individual videos when you still want autoplay. No special tools are needed—just a few taps or clicks.

What You’ll Need

Access to your Facebook account on either the mobile app (iOS or Android) or a web browser.
For the mobile app: the latest version of the Facebook app installed (older versions may have slightly different menu labels).
For desktop: a modern browser like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge.

Step-by-Step

On the Facebook Mobile App (iOS & Android)

Open the Facebook app on your phone or tablet.
Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the bottom-right corner on iOS, or the top-right corner on Android.
Scroll down and tap Settings & privacy.
Tap Settings.
Scroll down to the Preferences section and tap Media (on some versions it’s called Videos and Photos).
Look for the option Autoplay or Videos start with sound. Tap it.
Choose Off to completely disable video autoplay, or On Wi-Fi Only to autoplay only when connected to Wi-Fi (which still may include sound depending on your device settings). To specifically stop sound, look for a separate toggle labeled Videos start with sound and switch it Off.

Note: On some Android devices, the option might be under Settings > Media > Autoplay where you select Never Autoplay Videos. On iOS, if you don’t see a separate sound toggle, turning off autoplay entirely is the surest way to stop sound.

On the Facebook Website (Desktop)

Go to facebook.com and log in.
Click your profile picture (or the down arrow) in the top-right corner.
Select Settings & privacy, then Settings.
In the left sidebar, click Videos.
Under Video Settings, find Autoplay.
Click the dropdown next to Autoplay videos and select Off. This stops videos from playing automatically, which also stops any sound. There is no separate sound toggle on desktop—if you want autoplay but no sound, you’ll need to mute each video manually.

Muting a Single Video (When Autoplay is On)

When a video starts playing in your feed, look for the speaker icon in the bottom-right corner (mobile) or bottom-left (desktop).
Tap or click the speaker icon to mute or unmute that video. The icon will show a slash when muted.

Common Mistakes

Confusing autoplay with sound: Turning off autoplay stops videos from playing, which also stops sound. But if you only want to keep autoplay and mute sound, you must find the specific sound toggle (mobile) or mute each video manually (desktop).
Changing the wrong settings: Some users go to Notifications or Privacy settings, but the autoplay controls are under Media or Videos settings.
Not saving changes: On some browsers, you need to click a Save Changes button after changing the dropdown. If you don’t, the setting reverts.
Using an old app version: If you can’t find the settings, update the Facebook app from your app store—older versions have different menu layouts.

Tips

Use Wi-Fi only autoplay: This saves mobile data and gives you more control over when videos load.
Mute videos by default on desktop: Some browsers allow you to mute a site’s audio entirely. In Chrome, right-click the tab and select Mute site. This will silence all Facebook videos, but also any other audio from the site.
Check device sound settings: If you have your phone on silent, videos may not play sound even if autoplay is on. This is a quick way to mute without changing Facebook settings.
Use the volume button: On mobile, you can often press the physical volume down button while a video is playing to mute it instantly.

Troubleshooting

Videos still play with sound after changing settings.

Double-check that you saved the change (desktop). On mobile, close the Settings screen and reopen it to confirm the toggle is off.
Restart the Facebook app or refresh the browser tab. Sometimes settings take a few seconds to apply.
Clear the app cache (mobile) or browser cache (desktop) if the issue persists.

Can’t find the Media or Videos settings.

Use the search bar in Settings (desktop) and type “autoplay”—it will jump to the correct section.
On mobile, make sure you’re tapping Settings & privacy then Settings, not the submenu.
If you’re using Facebook Lite, the options are under Settings > Preferences > Videos.

Sound still plays on a specific video even when autoplay is off.

That video may be a live video or a video you explicitly tapped to play. Autoplay off only prevents automatic playback; manual playback will still have sound unless you mute it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do Facebook videos play with sound even though my phone is on silent?

Facebook’s autoplay sound setting is independent of your device’s silent mode. You need to turn off the “Videos start with sound” toggle in Facebook’s settings.

Will turning off autoplay save data?

Yes, videos won’t load until you tap them, which reduces data usage significantly, especially on mobile networks.

Can I set autoplay to only work on Wi-Fi?

Yes, in the mobile app’s Media settings, choose “On Wi-Fi Only” for autoplay. This means videos will only autoplay when connected to Wi-Fi, and you can still mute sound separately.

Does the desktop site have a separate sound toggle?

No, the desktop site only has an autoplay on/off dropdown. To keep autoplay but silence sound, you must mute each video manually or use browser-level site muting.

Why do some videos still play sound after I muted them?

If you mute a video and then scroll away, the next video will play with sound again. You need to mute each video individually. Also, live videos may override the mute setting.

Will these settings apply to Facebook Messenger videos?

No, these settings only affect the main Facebook app and website. Messenger has its own autoplay settings, which you can find in Messenger’s Settings under “Videos & Photos”.

General steps for current mainstream versions; menus can differ by device and version. See the disclaimer or report an error.

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