Auto-Playing Audio or Video
Media that plays automatically with sound interferes with screen readers, which use audio output. When a video starts playing, the screen reader audio competes with the media audio, making both incomprehensible. Even for sighted users, unexpected audio is one of the most annoying web experiences.
Why It Matters
Auto-playing audio is a WCAG 2.1 Level A violation if it lasts more than 3 seconds and there's no way to pause or stop it. It causes screen reader users to immediately leave the page. Even auto-playing video without sound can be distracting for users with attention disorders.
Code Examples
<!-- Auto-playing video with sound --> <video autoplay src="promo.mp4"></video> <!-- Auto-playing audio --> <audio autoplay src="background-music.mp3"></audio>
<!-- Video: muted autoplay with controls --> <video autoplay muted controls src="promo.mp4"></video> <!-- Better: no autoplay at all --> <video controls src="promo.mp4"> <track kind="captions" src="captions.vtt" srclang="en"> </video>
How to Fix
- 1Remove the autoplay attribute from audio and video elements.
- 2If autoplay is required (hero videos), add the muted attribute and provide visible controls to pause/stop.
- 3Any auto-playing media must have a mechanism to pause, stop, or mute within the first 3 seconds.
- 4Add captions/subtitles to all video content using the <track> element.
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