If a video ends and another one just starts playing on its own, or a thumbnail starts playing while you're only scrolling past it, those are two different problems with two different fixes. Both get blamed on "YouTube autoplay," but they're controlled by separate settings. This guide covers how to turn off autoplay on YouTube for each one, on phone, desktop, and TV, plus how to turn it back on if you change your mind. A YouTube Community thread on the topic treats the two behaviors as separate controls, though as a support-forum post rather than official documentation, it's corroborating detail rather than the final word.
One thing worth knowing before diving in: YouTube changes menu names and placement between app versions, devices, and account types. If a label mentioned below is missing on your screen, look for the nearest equivalent rather than assuming the feature has been removed entirely.
How to identify which autoplay setting is causing the problem
If a full new video starts after yours ends, usually behind a short countdown, that's Autoplay next video. If a thumbnail starts playing while you're browsing rather than watching, triggered by pausing on it on mobile, hovering on desktop, or landing on a title on a TV screen, that's usually Playback in Feeds on mobile or Inline playback on desktop. YouTube also has separate 3-second Video Previews, which may still appear even when inline playback is off.
Figure out which one you're actually seeing before touching any settings. The two menus don't overlap, so changing the wrong one will leave the problem exactly where it was.
How to turn off Autoplay next video
Turning this off doesn't hide the recommendation. YouTube still shows a next video when yours ends, it just stops that video from starting without you touching anything.
In-player toggle (mobile and desktop)
Open any video and tap or click on the player to bring up the controls.
Look for the Autoplay switch. It sits near the top of the video on mobile and at the bottom of the video player on desktop.
Tap or click it off.
Repeat the same steps and switch it back on whenever you want autoplay running again, this is the same path whether you're turning YouTube autoplay off or back on. This toggle hasn't turned up in TV app testing, which uses a separate settings menu instead (below). To check it worked, let a video play to the end, or scrub to the last few seconds, and watch whether anything starts without input.
Settings menu (Android and iPhone)
Tap your profile icon and open Settings.
Look for Autoplay. Some app versions file it under Playback instead.
Turn off Autoplay next video.
Menu wording shifts between app versions, so if "Autoplay" isn't its own entry, check inside Playback before assuming the option is gone.
Desktop web
Nothing in the research points to a separate Settings-menu option for next-video autoplay on desktop web. The in-player toggle above is the only route that's been reported.
TV and consoles
Open the side menu and go to Settings.
Select Auto-play.
Choose Enabled or Disabled.
That path comes from one tested interface, so expect the exact label to differ on Roku, Fire TV, Google TV, or a game console. Look for "Autoplay" or something close to it in the settings list if the wording doesn't match.
A couple of smaller notes worth knowing: On mobile, Playback in feeds can be set to Always on, Wi-Fi only, or Off. And the in-player Autoplay button may not appear when you're watching a video from inside a playlist. If that happens, check whether the next playlist video actually starts rather than assuming the setting failed just because the button isn't there.
How to turn off Playback in Feeds (video previews)
This is a separate setting from the one above. It's meant to control whether videos start playing while you scroll past them in a feed.
Android
Tap your profile icon and open Settings.
Go to General.
Tap Playback in Feeds.
Select Off, or On later to reverse it.
iPhone
On iPhone and iPad, YouTube currently documents the path as profile picture > Settings > General > Playback in Feeds, then choose Off.
Desktop web
Click your profile icon and open Settings.
Click Playback and Performance in the left-hand menu.
Turn Inline playback off, or on again later.
TV
Open the side menu and go to Settings.
Select Previews.
Choose Off, or On later to reverse it.
To check any of this worked, scroll through the home feed and pause on a thumbnail on mobile, or hover over one on desktop, without tapping or clicking. On mobile, videos should no longer begin inline playback while you browse. On desktop, full inline playback should stop, though eligible videos may still show a 3-second preview.
How-To Geek's testing found this setting tied to the specific device and browser it was changed on: turning off previews in Chrome didn't touch Edge, and disabling them on a phone didn't carry to a TV app signed into the same account. Treat that as the likely pattern rather than a guarantee, and check each device you actually use.
Why YouTube autoplay settings may not stick
Start by confirming you changed the setting that matches what you're actually seeing. Toggling next-video autoplay won't touch feed previews, and the reverse is true too, so a fix that "didn't work" is often just the wrong control.
If the account is supervised, a parent or guardian's restrictions can block autoplay changes no matter which toggle is used. One source also reports that autoplay is typically off by default for accounts aged 13 to 17, so in that case, using the steps above to switch it on is the fix.
Beyond that, work through the basics in order:
Recheck that the toggle actually flipped.
Refresh the page or restart the app.
Update the YouTube app to the current version.
Clear browser cache and cookies.
Turn off ad blockers or video-enhancement extensions that might interfere with playback settings.
A few other things can make autoplay look inconsistent even when the setting is correct. The cited guidance says autoplay pauses on its own after inactivity, roughly 30 minutes on mobile data and about four hours on Wi-Fi, regardless of the toggle. Turning off previews while signed out only lasts for that session. And on a shared device, one publisher reported that a preview setting changed under one account carried over to the next person who signed in on that same device.
On the question of whether next-video autoplay applies per device or account-wide, the evidence doesn't fully agree. Androidsis and How-To Geek both describe it as device-specific, while the YouTube Community thread describes the app setting as applying "across the app" for an account without confirming it syncs between devices. Until that's settled, checking each device separately is the safer move.
Test the specific behavior that was bothering you. If a full video still starts after one ends, go back to Autoplay next video; if thumbnails still animate while you scroll, go back to Playback in Feeds or Video Previews. Repeat the change on every phone, browser, and TV where you use YouTube, since at least the feed-preview setting doesn't carry over between them. On iPhone specifically, check whether Playback in Feeds is even present in your Settings menu before following older instructions built around it.
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