Facebook To Start Rolling Out Autoplay Ads

After months of rumors, Facebook announced that it will start testing autoplay video ads, the bane of Internet users everywhere, in NewsFeeds this week, huffingtonpost reports.

In a blog post published Tuesday, Facebook carefully spells out what the new video ads will and, more importantly, won’t do: While sound on the autoplay videos will only play if a person taps or clicks on it, Facebook’s more than 1 billion members won’t be able to opt out of having the ads automatically start playing as they scroll through NewsFeed.

Dino Grandoni reports that On mobile devices, only videos downloaded while a phone or tablet is connected with WiFi will play, meaning that the video ads will not eat into anyone’s data plan.

Facebook is characterizing the move as “an initial, limited test” that only “a small number of people will see.” This week, only one video ad will appear: A trailer for the new movie “Divergent.”