How to Stop Facebook Videos from Popping Out When Scrolling
What’s Causing the Pop-Out Video Window?
When you scroll past a playing Facebook video on desktop or mobile, you’ve likely noticed it jumps into a small floating window in the bottom right corner of your screen. This is Facebook’s picture-in-picture (PiP) feature, designed to let you keep watching video content while browsing your feed. It’s not a bug—it’s a deliberate design choice meant to improve user engagement.
The feature typically activates automatically when you scroll away from a video that’s currently playing. If you pause the video first, the pop-out usually doesn’t happen, which is why you noticed that workaround already. But relying on always stopping videos manually gets tedious fast.
Why This Behavior Started Recently
Facebook has been rolling out and refining its picture-in-picture feature over the past few years, expanding it across different browsers and devices. If this is new to you, it’s likely because of a browser update, a Facebook interface change, or a shift in your account settings that re-enabled the feature by default.
Solutions for Desktop Browsers
Method 1: Disable Picture-in-Picture in Browser Settings
Modern browsers have built-in picture-in-picture controls you can toggle off:
- Chrome: Go to chrome://settings/content/pictureInPicture and toggle the switch off
- Firefox: Right-click any video, select “Settings,” and uncheck “Enable Picture-in-Picture”
- Safari: Go to Preferences → Websites → Picture in Picture and set to “Don’t Allow”
- Edge: Go to edge://settings/content/pictureInPicture and toggle off
Method 2: Use Browser Extensions
If browser settings don’t fully resolve the issue, browser extensions offer a more aggressive block. uBlock Origin can be configured to prevent floating video elements from appearing. Install the extension, open its dashboard, and use the element picker to block the floating video container on Facebook.
Method 3: Disable Facebook’s Autoplay Settings
While not a direct fix for picture-in-picture, disabling Facebook’s autoplay feature can reduce the frequency of videos starting automatically in the first place:
- Click the menu (three horizontal lines) in the top right
- Scroll down and select Settings & Privacy
- Choose Settings
- In the left sidebar, click Videos
- Under “Autoplay,” select Off
Mobile Solutions
iPhone (Facebook App)
Tap More in the bottom menu → Settings → Videos and Photos → Autoplay → Select Never play videos automatically.
Android (Facebook App)
Open the menu → Scroll to Settings & Privacy → Settings → Videos → Toggle Autoplay off.
Mobile Browser
If using Facebook in your mobile web browser rather than the app, picture-in-picture behavior is typically less aggressive. Try switching to the mobile web version instead of the app if pop-outs remain problematic.
What If Nothing Works?
Sometimes Facebook’s interface changes can override user settings, or newer versions of the platform introduce features faster than settings catch up. In these cases, your most reliable long-term solution is a browser extension like uBlock Origin, which operates at a lower level than Facebook’s JavaScript and can consistently block the floating window container. You can also try Facebook Lite or the mobile web version, both of which handle video differently and have less aggressive picture-in-picture behavior.
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