You're scrolling through your feed in a quiet doctor's office or maybe sneaking a peek at your phone during a boring meeting. Suddenly, a random video of a DIY craft or a political rant blasts at full volume. It's mortifying. Everyone looks. You scramble for the volume rocker, but the damage is done. Honestly, the default audio settings on the Facebook app are some of the most intrusive "features" in modern social media. Between the videos that start screaming the second they hit your screen and those high-pitched chirps every time you Like a post or refresh the feed, it’s a sensory nightmare.
Learning how to turn off sound on fb isn't just about saving face in public; it's about reclaiming your sanity. Meta—the parent company—loves "engagement." Sound is a huge part of that. They want your attention, and loud noises are a primitive way to grab it. But you don't have to live like this. Whether you're on a high-end iPhone 15 or an old Android tablet, you can actually silence the app for good.
Most people think they just have to keep their phone on silent mode forever. That’s a band-aid, not a fix. If you forget to flip that physical switch or toggle the "Do Not Disturb" setting, Facebook will find a way to make noise. We need to go into the belly of the beast—the app settings themselves—to kill the audio at the source.
Killing the In-App Sound Effects Forever
Those little "pop" and "click" sounds are officially called "In-App Sounds." They are designed to give you dopamine hits. You click a button, you hear a sound, and your brain feels a tiny bit of satisfaction. It’s gamification, plain and simple. If you find them grating, here is how you shut them up on the mobile app.
Open your Facebook app and tap your profile picture or the "hamburger" menu (those three horizontal lines) in the corner. You'll see a gear icon for Settings & Privacy. Tap that, then tap Settings. Now, here is where it gets slightly confusing because Facebook changes their layout roughly every twenty minutes. You are looking for a section called Media.
Inside the Media menu, look for a toggle labeled In-App Sounds. Turn it off.
📖 Related: Who is Blue Origin and Why Should You Care About Bezos's Space Dream?
Just like that, the "refresh" chirp and the "like" click are gone. It feels weird at first. The app feels a bit "dead" or unresponsive because we've been conditioned to expect those audio cues. Give it five minutes. You’ll realize how much calmer your browsing experience becomes when your phone isn't constantly talking back to you.
Why does the sound keep coming back?
Sometimes, you’ll update your app, and suddenly the sounds are back. It's incredibly frustrating. This usually happens because Meta pushes a "version update" that resets certain preference flags to default. They want those sounds on. If you notice the chirping has returned after an App Store or Play Store update, you’ll have to go back into the Media settings and toggle it off again. It’s a bit of a cat-and-mouse game, but worth the thirty seconds it takes to fix.
The Autoplay Video Problem
This is the big one. This is the "embarrassment in the library" culprit. Autoplay videos are the primary reason people search for how to turn off sound on fb. By default, Facebook is set to "On-Mobile Data and Wi-Fi" for autoplay, and often "Videos Start With Sound" is toggled on.
To fix this, go back to that same Media menu we found earlier. Look for the header that says Autoplay.
- First, look for Videos Start With Sound. Flip that switch to the "off" position immediately. Now, even if a video plays, it will be muted until you specifically tap it.
- Next, consider selecting Never Autoplay Videos.
Selecting "Never Autoplay" is a power move. Not only does it stop the noise, but it saves a massive amount of battery life and data. If you’re on a limited data plan, autoplaying HD videos as you scroll is basically throwing money in the trash. When you turn this off, you’ll just see a static thumbnail with a play button. You choose what to watch. You control the audio. It’s a much more intentional way to use the internet.
👉 See also: The Dogger Bank Wind Farm Is Huge—Here Is What You Actually Need To Know
A Note on the "Mute" Button in Reels
Reels are a different beast. Sometimes, even if you have "Videos Start With Sound" turned off, Reels can be unpredictable. When you click into a Reel, look for the tiny speaker icon. If you mute one Reel, Facebook usually remembers that preference for the rest of your session. But don't trust it. The only way to be 100% sure is to keep your system volume down or use the "Never Autoplay" setting mentioned above.
Browsers and Desktops: A Different Approach
If you’re using Facebook on a laptop or desktop via Chrome, Safari, or Edge, the settings are a bit different. You don't have a "Media" menu in the same way. Usually, if you want to know how to turn off sound on fb on a computer, you have to look at the browser level.
You can right-click the Facebook tab at the top of your browser and select Mute Site. This is a nuclear option. It ensures that no matter what Facebook tries to do, no sound will ever come out of that tab. This is perfect if you like to have Facebook open in the background while you listen to Spotify or work.
If you don't want to mute the whole site, you can go into Facebook’s web settings (click your profile pic > Settings & Privacy > Settings > Videos). There, you can toggle "Autoplay Videos" to off. Desktop browsers are generally better at respecting your "Mute" clicks on individual videos than the mobile app is.
Understanding the "Quiet Mode" Feature
Facebook actually introduced something called "Quiet Mode" a while back. It’s tucked away in the Your Time on Facebook section of the settings. While it’s mostly marketed as a mental health tool to limit screen time, it also silences most notifications.
✨ Don't miss: How to Convert Kilograms to Milligrams Without Making a Mess of the Math
If your goal in learning how to turn off sound on fb is actually to stop the constant "dinging" of notifications throughout the day, Quiet Mode is your best friend. You can schedule it. For example, you can set it to turn on automatically at 9:00 PM and off at 7:00 AM. During this time, the app won't send push notifications with sound. It creates a "buffer" between you and the social network.
The Ghost in the Machine: Why Can I Still Hear It?
There are times when you’ve toggled everything off, but you still hear a stray sound. This usually happens because of "Stories." Facebook Stories operate on a slightly different code architecture than the main news feed. If you tap into a Story, it often ignores the "Mute Autoplay" rule because the entire point of a Story is to watch it.
If you are in a situation where silence is mandatory, the only 100% foolproof method is to use your phone's physical mute switch or the volume slider. Software settings are great, but they are prone to bugs or "oversights" by developers who really, really want you to hear that 15-second ad for a mobile game.
Actionable Steps for a Silent Feed
- Audit your Media settings: Do this once a month. Facebook likes to reset these after big updates. Ensure "In-App Sounds" is off and "Videos Start With Sound" is toggled to the left.
- Use the "Never Autoplay" option: It’s the single most effective way to prevent accidental audio blunders.
- Mute the tab on desktop: If you use a computer, right-click the tab and mute the entire domain. It’s much easier than digging through the internal Facebook settings menu.
- Check your "Sounds and Haptics" on your phone system: Sometimes the "chirp" isn't the app; it's your phone's notification system. Go to your phone's main settings, find Facebook under "Notifications," and toggle "Sounds" off there. This stops the notification sound while allowing the visual alert to still appear.
Taking these steps transforms Facebook from a loud, intrusive billboard into a quiet, manageable tool. You shouldn't have to feel anxious about opening an app in public. By taking control of these buried toggles, you're the one deciding when and how you consume media. Stop letting the algorithm scream at you and start browsing on your own terms.