How to stop Firefox in Mac from starting plug-ins automatically?
Is there an extension that prevents Firefox from launching plug-ins automatically? When I open a new link, any video on the page will automatically start playing, usually after I've scrolled past the video to read what I came there for, so then I have to scroll up or down to find it in order to stop it - wastes time and slows down my browser - at least it appears to do so. Can you help? Thanks
Chosen solution
Individual plugins can be set to "click to play" so that they do not start up automatically. You can give sites permission to run plugins on a page-by-page basis or on a site-by-site basis.
Open the Add-ons page to the Plugins section:
Tools menu > Add-ons > in the left column, click Plugins
Then for Shockwave Flash, for example, or for QuickTime, change the selector from "Always Activate" to "Ask to Activate"
When you reach a page that wants to use one of these plugins, you will see at least one of these:
- icon in the address bar that looks like a piece of Lego
- notification on a dark gray rectangle where video normally would appear
- infobar sliding down between the toolbar area and the top of the page
In the dialog, you can approve the plugin for the current page, or "remember" it which approves all pages on the site.
Give it a try and see what you think.
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Chosen Solution
Individual plugins can be set to "click to play" so that they do not start up automatically. You can give sites permission to run plugins on a page-by-page basis or on a site-by-site basis.
Open the Add-ons page to the Plugins section:
Tools menu > Add-ons > in the left column, click Plugins
Then for Shockwave Flash, for example, or for QuickTime, change the selector from "Always Activate" to "Ask to Activate"
When you reach a page that wants to use one of these plugins, you will see at least one of these:
- icon in the address bar that looks like a piece of Lego
- notification on a dark gray rectangle where video normally would appear
- infobar sliding down between the toolbar area and the top of the page
In the dialog, you can approve the plugin for the current page, or "remember" it which approves all pages on the site.
Give it a try and see what you think.
I should note that once you approve a plugin for a page, it is approved for all of the video players on the page. There is an extension that requires approval for each of the players. I haven't tried it myself.
https://addons.mozilla.org/firefox/addon/click-to-play-per-element/