Lorene Melone
How To Disable Autoplay Video Previews in Google App on Android
This isn’t just about saving data — autoplay videos popping up all over can get kinda annoying, especially when you’re trying to focus or conserve bandwidth. Sometimes the settings aren’t obvious, and Google keeps changing stuff around with updates, so figuring out how to turn off those pesky previews can feel like a wild goose chase. Luckily, after messing with this a bit, there’s a way to tame those autoplay previews and just enjoy browsing without constant interruptions. Expect smaller data bills, fewer distractions, and overall less frustration when searching or scrolling through the Google app.
How to Fix Autoplay Video Previews in Google App on Android
Access the Settings Menu
This is usually the first hurdle—some phones hide settings a bit, so start by swiping up on your home screen to open the app drawer. Find the Settings icon (it’s that gear icon, of course). Tap on it to dive into the device’s main settings. This is where you can control a lot of things, from Wi-Fi to notifications. On some phones, you might need to scroll down a tiny bit or search for “Settings” if it’s buried.
Navigate to Google Settings
Once in the main settings, scroll down or search within the menu to find the Google section. Tap on it. That lands you in Google’s core settings, where all the magic or chaos happens, depending on how you tweak things. Sometimes, the Google option’s quite deep in the menu, so don’t worry if it feels like hunting for a needle in a haystack.
Find All Services
Within Google settings, look for All Services. This option is usually at the top, or if not, it’s a list down that reveals more detailed options specific to Google’s apps. Tap on that. You’re now digging into the detailed controls for Google services, which includes search, assistant, and apparently, autoplay video previews.
Access Search, Assistant & Voice Settings
Here’s where it gets interesting. Tap on Search, Assistant & Voice. That section has settings for Google Assistant, voice commands, and… yeah, autoplay videos, which is what you’re after. Sometimes this menu is a bit cluttered, but you’re looking for any toggle or setting mentioning autoplay or video previews.
Scroll to Autoplay Settings
Keep scrolling until you spot the Autoplay section. This isn’t always right at the top, so a bit of patience helps. Tap on that to open up options for autoplay behavior inside Google apps, YouTube, or wherever Google is trying to push video content on you.
Configure Autoplay Video Previews
Here’s the core part—at the bottom of the Autoplay menu, you should see an option called Autoplay Video Previews. Tap it, and you get a handful of choices like:
- Never – Videos won’t autoplay at all. Basically, you scroll freely without video surprises.
- Only on Wi-Fi – Autoplay kicks in only if you’re connected to Wi-Fi. Good for saving mobile data but still lets you enjoy videos at home or in cafes.
- On Wi-Fi and Mobile Data – The default on some setups, autoplay on all connections, which can drain your data plan faster than you’d like.
Select whatever makes sense — on one setup it worked as expected, but on another, I had to toggle a couple of times for it to stick. Once you pick your preference, back out or close the settings. Usually, these changes save automatically, but if they seem to revert, a quick restart of the app or phone might help.
Extra Tips & Common Issues
If the settings don’t seem to stick or autoplay still happens, here are a few tricks that can help:
- Check if app updates are pending. Sometimes, newer versions fix weird bugs related to preferences not saving.
- Clear cache of the Google app through Settings > Apps & notifications > Google > Storage, then tap Clear Cache. Maybe that will nudge the app into respecting your choice.
- If things are still buggy, disable then re-enable the Google app in the app info menu.
- And of course, on some devices, you might need to tweak settings in the app itself if available, or disable certain permissions if it’s interfering.
Wrap-up
Getting rid of autoplay video previews isn’t always straightforward—it’s kind of weird how Google hides this stuff behind layers of menus. But once it’s set, it makes browsing a lot calmer, no random videos popping up unsolicited. Just keep in mind that Google updates their UI pretty often, so these steps might shift around a bit. Still, they’re usually close enough to get the job done.
Summary
- Access Settings > Google > All Services > Search, Assistant & Voice.
- Find the Autoplay section and tap on Autoplay Video Previews.
- Choose the preferred option: Never, Wi-Fi only, or Wi-Fi & Mobile Data.
- If issues crop up, restart the app or device, or clear the app cache.
Final thoughts
Hopefully, this shaves off a few hours staring at autoplay ads and videos. It’s honestly a bit of a pain to dig through menus, but once it’s done, browsing gets way more peaceful. Just something that worked on multiple machines. Fingers crossed this helps.