Facebook testing auto-playing videos with sound turned on

Social media platforms are currently experiencing video mania with video content forming a major chunk of social networking consumption. New experiments are being tried out every day to catch maximum eyeballs. A move in the same direction is being carried out by networking giant Facebook which is testing auto-playing videos — including ads and Facebook Live videos — with the sound automatically turned on, reports Mashable.

The tests are currently limited to some Australian Facebook users who access the social network on their phones. Users in the test can turn off the sound on individual videos or navigate their way to Facebook’s settings page and turn the sound off for all videos.

Facebook has confirmed the tests saying, “We're running a small test in News Feed where people can choose whether they want to watch videos with sound on from the start. For people in this test who do not want a sound to play, they can switch it off in Settings or directly on the video itself. This is one of the several tests we're running as we work to improve the video experience for people on Facebook.”

Facebook’s investments in the video have fundamentally altered the social network over the last year, as the popularity of both live-streamed video and prerecorded clips have fast become the site’s most viral and consumable type of media.

Zuckerberg’s team has so far adopted a cautious approach as far as video feeds are concerned because at last, it’s the user who decides if he/she wants the content. Turning on the sound for videos surely signify a bolder shift in the company’s strategy.