Photosensitivity Video Blocker

Stops videos and gifs from auto-playing.

What it is: ------------------------------------------ This is a tool for photosensitive people (or people tired of overwhelming amounts of animation on the internet at large) to more safely browse the internet without traversing it like a minefield. Firstly, this contains a video blocker, that blocks playback of any video element, and requires you to actively click on the video a number of times, to start playback. This number is editable in the options, but defaults to 3 clicks, to ensure the user fully intends to actually start the video. This is done to also protect against misclicks. Secondly, this extension finds any .gif, .png and .webp image files on any webpage, determines if they are animated, and then replaces them with pre-paused playable versions. !!NOTICE!! While we strive to block as much potentially disrupting content as possible, this product is not a perfect solution. Please exercise due caution when browsing the internet, if you are sensitive and could suffer harm or discomfort. !!NOTICE!! What it does: ------------------------------------------ The extension will be looking for images on all websites, and if it determines that it is animated, it will replace the image with a version the extension has created, that allows the animated image to be played as intended, but remains paused until the user clicks the "play" button now overlaid on top of the animation. Additionally it takes control of video elements on the page, and prevents them from playback unless the user specifically clicks them. Finally, this reduces CSS animation to a bare minimum, in order to hopefully control most moving parts into not actually be moving. So seriously, what it does: ------------------------------------------ To accurately describe what goes on "beneath the hood", first we must establish some definitions. Javascript - A code language used for creating various functionalities on the websites. Image elements - Image files can come in many different formats. The formats we are concerned with are the ".gif", ".png" and ".webp", as these are the most commonly used images that can be animated. These images are displayed via something called "<img> tags". The browser is made to simply display these, and - if animated - play their animation loop. Javascript cannot interfere directly with this behavior. Video elements - Video files also come in many different formats. We are not concerned with the particular format, as video elements are presented in something called a "<video> tag". This utilizes either a video player built into the browser, or a separate video player script. Javascript can interact with - and control - these elements. Canvas - A HTML5 element, that in essence behaves like a tiny photoshop for Javascript. It can be used to programmatically draw image data onto. It is very versatile. The extension finds all image elements on all websites, and if they correspond to the relevant image formats, it first copies them to a Canvas, and displays the canvas in place of the actual image. This has the effect of immediately removing any potentially animated element, as further treatment can take a couple of seconds depending on image size and internet connection speed. Then, if the image is analyzed to not be animated after all, the placeholder will be removed in favor of the image. However if it IS animated, it will be converted into a copy that is paused and can, if the user chooses to, be played back and paused at will. Finally the placeholder is removed and the functional image is displayed. The extension also replaces the default "play" function on video elements, with a version that blocks playback until the conditions (the user having directly clicked on the video a number of times) are met. This prevents autoplay and forced playback upon scrolling videos into view, as most websites do. Finally, it adds some custom CSS styling to every page, that attempts to set all CSS animations to last 0 seconds (instant change), and animation repetitions to 1. This should remove any infinite or long lasting animation loops, while still allowing elements to move or unfold, in an attempt to stifle animation without removing basic functionality. !!WARNING!! A few websites we have encountered, have Javascript that plays video as a background element that we cannot actively engage with. Please exercise due caution when browsing the internet, if you are sensitive and could suffer harm or discomfort. !!WARNING!! What can we do: ------------------------------------------ The team behind tries to keep up with the developments of the internet, but technology moves fast. If you notice any issues with the extension, please feel free to contact us with the details, and we will try to address as many issues as we can. This is an ongoing development; we continually strive towards making this extension as unintrusive as possible, while still catching as much potentially harmful content as possible. However please keep in mind that the internet is a wild and rapidly changing landscape, so again, please exercise due caution if you are sensitive and could suffer harm or discomfort. We cannot guarantee that we catch every possible way someone could make flashing or moving content.