Never-Ending Autoplay
Never-Ending Autoplay is a design pattern that automatically plays videos one after another, without requiring user interaction. This pattern is often used as a strategy by digital services to drive user behavior, and it undermines users’ sense of agency by removing the need for autonomous decision-making. Autoplay is the biggest issue when it is “neverending” and cannot be easily turned off.
Example: YouTube
Video streaming platforms like YouTube automatically start a new video when the previous one ends, and this can go on indefinitely, encouraging users to continue watching more videos. This autoplay feature enforces more extended viewing sessions by incrementally making recommendations. Unlike social networks, YouTube users can easily disable/enable the autoplay functionality through a slider embedded in the video player.