The internet is bursting out video and audio advertisements, making you feel like you are standing in one noisy marketplace. And when you are working on several tabs in one time, it can be perplexing to spot which tab is making all the clatter. The good news is there are a few ways in which the users can take control of the annoying web pages and mute tabs on Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
How to mute Tabs in Chrome or Edge browser
Both are Chromium-based browsers and so Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome display a tiny speaker icon on the right end of the tabs that are playing audio. This is great for identifying reprobate sounds when the users have too many tabs open. Here is how this icon looks:
With this audio icon, users can easily spot which tab is playing the audio. One of the easiest ways to get rid of the noisy culprit could be closing it. But what if the user still needs the tab for later reference? You can achieve both by muting tabs without closing it. Following are few options to mute tabs on Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
- Right-click on the tab to ‘Mute site’
- Use ‘Tab Muter’ browser Extension
Let’s look at these options in detail.
1] Right-click on the ‘Mute site’ tab
This is the simplest way to mute tabs on Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge. All you need to do is right-click on the tab that is sending the audio output and select Mute site.
On selecting Mute site tab, you will see a cross-line over the audio icon of the tab. This indicates that the audio has been muted for that specific website.
This option allows you to mute the websites opened on Chrome or Edge entirely.
2] Use ‘Tab Muter’ browser Extension
Let’s face it: Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge cannot effectually determine which tabs should be playing the audio and which should not. In addition to that, their in-built muting features keep coming and going. This generated the need for options beyond the browsers power via extensions. Tab Muter is a browser extension exclusively for Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge which restores the tab muting abilities in the browser.
Tab muter can be added to the Chrome or Edge browser from here.
Click Add to Chrome to add this extension to Chrome’s main toolbar.
Once the extension is added, you can see the extension icon to toggle audio functionality of the website in the active tab.
The Tab muter extension adds an audio icon at the side of the address bar on Chrome. Click this icon to mute tabs on Google Chrome. Similarly, another click on it unmutes the audio again.
It works with Microsoft Edge too!
We tried this extension on YouTube and a few other sites as well and it works fine. Note that the muting is applied to an individual tab and not to the site. This extension mutes any tab regardless of the website. This extension is surely very handy for those who want to shut off audio for a tab without muting the entire system.
This is how you can enable and use the Tab Mute feature using extensions. In my view, Tab muter is a great extension that helps restore the tab muting functionality in the Chrome or Edge browser. Users who miss this functionality can install the browser extension to bring it back.
Read: How to mute Tabs in Firefox
What is the difference between Tab muting vs Site muting?
The key difference between these options is evident – One mutes the Tab and the other mutes the site. Muting a site limits the users, as they will not hear any sound notification from the site turned to mute. However, if a single tab has been muted, the user will still get notifications from the same website if it is open in a different tab on the user’s system.
What Is Tab Audio Muting in Chrome?
Tab audio muting or Tab audio muting UI control allows users to instantly mute a tab where audio can be heard. Every time a website plays audio, a speaker icon appears on that tab. This feature helps to rapidly mute or unmutes a tab by clicking on the speaker icon (audio indication) directly on the tab rather than right-clicking on the tab and selecting to mute or unmute a site.
So, next time if a site loads infuriating auto-playing videos, or you visit an awful website that plays non-stop background music, remember to mute tabs on Google Chrome.
