Apple TV (the hardware) is widely regarded as one of the premier streaming devices available, offering a seamless experience that grants you access to an array of popular streaming services, including Netflix, Prime Video, and more. Beyond its impressive hardware capabilities, the real gem for many users is the Apple TV app itself. This app serves not only as a gateway to the Apple TV+ streaming service — with its exclusive original movies, TV shows, and live sports—but also functions as a smart aggregator that helps you discover shows and movies across various platforms.
However, many users find the auto-play video previews that appear on the Apple TV home page or within the Apple TV app to be quite intrusive. For instance, if your sound is on, these previews can start unexpectedly, creating a startling moment when you're simply browsing. Some users prefer a more leisurely scrolling experience without the constant interruption of automated content suggestions. Additionally, for parents with young children, these previews can be particularly concerning—no one wants to have their kids exposed to potentially frightening or equally intense content while they’re just trying to decide what to watch during family movie night.
Fortunately, you can easily turn off these auto-playing previews, which will help create a more peaceful browsing experience. It’s important to note, however, that this adjustment only applies to the Apple TV app. Streaming services such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Video have their own individual settings for managing auto-play features, and you’ll need to adjust those separately.
If you'd like to take control of your viewing experience and stop the auto-play previews on the Apple TV app on your device, keep reading. This guide provides step-by-step instructions tailored for tvOS 18, helping you reclaim your screen from unsolicited video interruptions. Enjoy a more personalized and uninterrupted streaming experience!
Auto-play video previews on the Apple TV home screen
Before we begin, it’s helpful to explain the various auto-play video preview features available on Apple TV, specifically starting with the home screen. On this screen, you can find all your apps, such as Netflix, Hulu, Apple Music, and, of course, the Apple TV app, which you likely have conveniently placed in the top row of your most-used apps.
When the auto-play video previews feature is enabled, selecting the Apple TV app icon in the top row will trigger any available video previews for the corresponding content (although not every piece of content has a preview). These previews will automatically start playing but without sound. If you swipe up on the Apple TV remote, the previews expand to full-screen and play with sound.
If you turn off the auto-play video previews feature, the video previews will not automatically play when you select the icon. Instead, still images of suggested shows and movies will scroll by as usual. However, swiping up will still allow you to view the video previews, overriding the turned-off setting, and anything with a video preview will play in full-screen mode and with sound.
Auto-play video previews inside the Apple TV app
It's similar when in the Apple TV app with the auto-play previews turned On. In the Watch Now section, any content that has a video preview will play, with sound. In the TV+ tab, it's all original content, so it all will auto-play with a preview. Sports, Store, and Library do not show video previews.
Turning the auto-play previews feature Off disables the automatic playing of all video previews in both the Watch Now and TV+ sections inside the Apple TV app and there will just be still images and title information that you can scroll.
Now, with all of that out of the way, here are the steps for how to turn the auto-play video previews feature off.
How to turn of auto-play previews on the Apple TV app
Turning off the Apple TV apps's auto-play preview feature is super easy. Here's how.
Step 1: From the Settings menu, scroll down to and select Accessibility.
Step 2: Scroll down again and select Motion.
Step 3: Lastly, scroll down to highlight Auto-Play Video Previews and click the remote to switch it from the On to Off.
That's it, that's all. That's just one of the little Apple TV tips and tricks we've covered at Digital Trends. Now you can enjoy your Apple TV on your own terms without those annoying previews playing.
