Accessibility Bytes No. 18: Avoid Auto-Playing Content

Do you know that automatically playing audio, video, or animations can make digital content difficult — or even impossible — for some people to use?

Auto-playing content may seem engaging, but it can interfere with assistive technologies, distract users, and reduce overall usability. By giving users control over when content starts, you help ensure your content is accessible to everyone.

When audio or video starts playing automatically:

It can interfere with screen readers, making content hard or impossible to understand.
It can be startling or disorienting, especially for users with cognitive disabilities.
It may prevent users from navigating or interacting with the page effectively.

Let the User Choose

Limit automatic audio

Configure media so background music or narration does not start automatically, or ensure users can quickly pause, stop, or mute it.
If short audio is necessary, keep it under 3 seconds.

Provide accessible controls

If your content must start automatically:

Include pause, stop, or hide controls
- As a best practice, include pause, stop, or hide content controls within the first three elements users encounter---or within three elements of the auto-playing content.
Ensure controls are:
- Visible
- Keyboard accessible
- Clearly labeled

Control motion and animation

Auto-playing content isn’t just audio:

Carousels, sliders, and animations should:
- Not start automatically, or
- Include a pause, stop, or hide control

Content that moves for more than 5 seconds must be controllable.

Don’t rely on browser controls

Some browsers allow users to block autoplay—but not all do.

Accessible content should not depend on browser settings to work properly.

Examples

Not Accessible
- A 30 second homepage video that starts playing with sound automatically.
- Background music that loops without controls.
- A carousel that rotates continuously with no pause option.

Accessible
- A video with a clearly labeled Play button.
- Audio that starts only when the user activates it.
- A carousel with accessible Pause/Play controls.

TIP: If you’re unsure whether to autoplay content, don’t. Giving users control over when and how content plays improves accessibility, usability, and overall user experience—for everyone.

For more information on these and other audio and video controls, visit:

WCAG 1.2.2 (Captions (Prerecorded)): Captions are provided for all prerecorded audio content in synchronized media, except when the media is a media alternative for text and is clearly labeled as such.
WCAG 1.2.5 (Audio Description (Prerecorded)): Audio description is provided for all prerecorded video content in synchronized media.</h4>
WCAG 1.4.2 (Audio Control): Audio that plays automatically for more than 3 seconds must be controllable.
WCAG 2.2.2 (Pause, Stop, Hide): Moving or auto-updating content must be pausable or stoppable.

Reviewed/Updated: May 2026