When Did Video Ads Come to the News Feed?

Facebook announced a test of video ads that play automatically in News Feed on 17 December 2013. It said “a small number of people” would see ads for the film ‘Divergent’ begin playing as they came into view, on mobile and desktop. No Meta page read for this entry says when the test became a standard format, so this page gives no such date.

What did Facebook announce in December 2013?

The post, titled “Testing a New Way to Watch Promoted Videos in News Feed”, said Facebook had been testing a way to make videos more engaging since September. It said views, likes, shares and comments had increased by more than 10 percent as a result. It then wrote: “We’re beginning to test a similar video viewing format for advertisers.”

The post gives the 10 percent figure for the test that began in September, not for the advertiser test it announces next. If you see it quoted as an ad result, treat it with caution.

How did the test ads behave?

The post lists the behaviour in plain terms:

• Videos began to play as they appeared on screen, without sound, and you could scroll or swipe past them.
• If someone clicked or tapped the video and played it in full screen, its sound played as well.
• At the end of the video, a carousel of two more videos from the same marketer appeared.
• On mobile, videos that started on their own had been downloaded in advance over Wi-Fi, so playback did not use a data plan.

Facebook’s questions and answers add that it was “an initial, limited test” and that it would say if or when more video content would start playing as it came into view.

If you build a video today, play it once with the sound off and check that the message still reads.

What did Facebook say about autoplay in September 2014?

On 7 September 2014 Fidji Simo, Product Management Director for video, wrote about video on Facebook in general: “Last year, videos started coming to life with auto-play as people scrolled through their News Feed.” She added that the update “rolled out slowly” and that people in the US and many other countries now saw videos auto-play, with settings that people could customise on mobile and web.

The post also said that since June there had been an average of more than 1 billion video views on Facebook every day, and that more than 65% of views were on mobile. It does not mention paid ads, so it does not date the ad format.

Use these numbers as background on why video moved up the feed, not as a benchmark for your own account.

How does autoplay work for video ads now?

Meta’s help centre says a minimum share of a video ad’s pixels must be in view for the ad to play automatically, and that the minimum depends on the platform and placement. Its table, as checked on 2 Oct 2026, gives these examples:

• Facebook Feed: 50% of pixels.
• Instagram Feed: 25% of pixels.
• Facebook Stories and Instagram Stories: 100% of pixels.
• Instagram Reels: 50% of pixels.

Meta also lists why a video may still not play on its own: autoplay is turned off or not supported on the device, connectivity is weak or turned off, the battery is low, or the minimum share of pixels is not in view.

Before you launch, open the table for each placement you selected, and do not assume every viewer sees your video play on its own.

FAQ

Did every video ad play automatically after December 2013?

Not on the evidence of that post. Facebook called the December 2013 change “an initial, limited test” and said only a small number of people would see the Divergent ads. It promised to say if or when more video content would begin to play as it came into view.

Did those early video ads play with sound?

No, not until the viewer chose it. The 2013 post says videos start without sound, and its questions and answers say they “will not play with sound unless you turn the sound on”, which you do by clicking or tapping the video. In full screen the sound plays.

Why might my video ad not play automatically today?

Meta’s help centre gives four reasons: autoplay is off or unsupported on the device, the connection is weak or off (or autoplay is set to Wi-Fi only), the battery is low, or too few of the video’s pixels are in view. Check the placement’s pixel minimum first.