Tech: Apple is going to start blocking annoying autoplay videos online (AAPL)

They're a bane of the modern web — and now Apple is taking a stand.

Autoplay videos are one of the banes of the modern web. They pop up without warning, clogging up your browser and blasting sound through your speakers.

But Apple plans to put a stop to it.

The Californian technology company intends to block auto-playing videos in its desktop browser Safari, it said at its WWDC developer conference on Tuesday. Instead, they'll be automatically paused, letting users decide whether they want to unpause them.

At WWDC, Apple announced macOS High Sierra — the latest version of its desktop operating system for Macs. Included is an updated version of Safari that includes a number of useful new features. Along with the auto-play video block, it now also blocks trackers, so ads can't use people's browsing histories to target them.

"Safari uses machine learning to identify trackers, segregate the cross-site scripting data, put it away so now your privacy — your browsing history — is your own,” Apple SVP of software engineering Craig Federighi said on-stage. "It’s not about blocking ads, the web behaves as it always did, but your privacy is protected."

They're a bane of the modern web — and now Apple is taking a stand. Read Full Story