Audio Control
Any audio that plays automatically for more than three seconds must have a pause, stop, or volume control independent of the system volume — so it doesn't drown out screen-reader speech.
What it asks
If a page auto-plays audio — a background music loop, a video that starts on page load with sound, an autoplay ad — and it runs longer than three seconds, the user must be able to pause or stop it, or adjust its volume separately from the system volume. The reason is mechanical: a screen reader speaks at system volume; background audio at the same volume buries the speech.
How to meet it
- Don’t autoplay audio at all on page load. It is the simplest path to compliance.
- If autoplay is required (a specific media-experience page), provide a visible Pause / Stop button within the first viewport.
- Add an independent volume slider that doesn’t depend on the OS volume.
- Use
<video muted>for autoplay video — modern browsers refuse autoplay with sound anyway. - Test that the audio control is reachable by keyboard and is the first interactive element after the audio starts.
Common failures
- Marketing splash video that autoplays with sound and has no visible mute control.
- Background music loop on a portfolio site that fades in over 5 seconds with no off switch.
- Autoplay ads where the “mute” control is inside an iframe the user can’t focus.
- Audio elements with
autoplayand nocontrolsattribute. - Hero video with a pause button that only appears on hover — keyboard users can’t find it.
Why it matters
Almost no modern browser allows autoplay with sound anyway, so 1.4.2 is increasingly enforced by Chrome and Safari for you. Still, audit any page that uses Audio() constructors or play() calls from JavaScript — those bypass some autoplay-block heuristics and can trigger this failure.