These days when you have multiple website tabs open, it is easy to encounter an annoying auto-play add, but at the same time, we want to be able to listen to video and audio coming from other websites, such as YouTube, Netflix or Spotify. How does one mute one tab without muting the other? The good news is that there are a handful of easy options available.

Chrome

Google chrome’s browser displays a little speaker on any tab that is currently playing audio. To mute this tab, right-click the tab and choose “Mute Tab”, which can be done without having to change to the tab.

Edge

Microsoft Edge’s browser shows the speaker icon on any tab playing audio, but you can’t simply click on the background tab to mute it. On Edge, you must switch to this tab, and find the source, such as a video and mute it.

Firefox

Firefox gives us a speaker icon, and you can click on it to mute the audio, without having to switch to the tab. Firefox can also be muted in the same fashion as Chrome, by right-clicking the tab and clicking on “Mute Tab”.

Safari

Safari offers the same muting options as Firefox, as you can click on the speaker icon to mute the tab. You still have the right-click option to mute the tab.

Third Party add-on options

Third party add-ons should be considered if you have a tendency to have a large number of tab’s open, and can’t find which tab is generating the sound.

With Firefox, there is an add-on known as “MuteLinks”. This add-on will let you create a list of websites that you don’t want to hear any audio from.

For Google Chrome, there is “Mute Tabs by URL”, which performs the same functionality as MuteLinks on Firefox.

Another option for Google Chrome is “MuteTab”, considered to be the comprehensive option, where you can mute specific URLs, background tabs and much more.

Sources:

https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2017/07/how-to-mute-specific-sites-in-your-browser/

https://www.cnet.com/au/how-to/writing-your-guide-to-muting-browser-tabs/