Facebook Videos Now Autoplay on Mobiles

Facebook has updated its mobile version and it will now autoplay videos. Not all videos of course, just the ones uploaded directly on its platform. Facebook is looking to differentiate its native videos from the likes of Vine, Instagram or especially Youtube videos which are by far the most uploaded video content on Facebook.

Josh Constine, from TechCrunch, reports:

[quote style=”boxed”]Previously, any video uploaded to Facebook directly or shared to the News Feed from Instagram would appear the same as YouTube videos — locked behind a play button. While the conscious decision to stop scrolling for, open the video player, wait for it to load, and watch might not seem like a big deal, it may have been too much of a time and effort investment for some. If people don’t watch videos, they don’t get likes and comments that encourage friends to upload more, and they might skip uploading them themselves.[/quote]

Facebook confirmed this new format is now internationally rolled out to most iOS and Android users and will reach all of them soon. However, Facebook is still testing this feature on desktop and doesn’t have schedule for when it will roll out there.

Also Read: Is Facebook Afraid of Advertisers Leaving Its Platform?

TechCrunch has shared this video showing how it actually works:

And of course this probably is the first official step which announces the launch of video ads on Facebook. Although back when it was first testing the feature in September, Facebook denied this, there is no doubt in our mind that video ads will be on Facebook very soon

[quote style=”boxed”] At first, this feature will be limited to videos posted by individuals, musicians, and bands. We’re doing this to make sure we create the best possible experience. Over time, we’ll continue to explore how to bring this to marketers in the future.[/quote]