I noticed this evening that YouTube has started unmuting my MacBook during ads. I mute the first ad, but then the second one starts playing out loud. I didn't know that Chrome had permission to control volume, and I can't find anything about this online. When did it start happening, and is there any way to disable this permission for certain apps?
Wow that is unbelievably user-hostile design. I'm not able to recreate this behavior on my Mac (Ventura 13.6.3) or Chrome (Version 130.0.6723.117). Are you running a different OS/version of Chrome?
Anyway if I can get it to trigger the unmute I think I'd try the following:
> userscript in Chrome that blocks access to system settings
> userscript that automatically mutes volume when new page is loaded
> (lame GUI way) check system settings in mac for app restrictions
> (super hacky) write a bash script that perpetually mutes volume
This is a bit of a tangent but it's odd you're having this problem since Mac's tend to be pretty locked down with 3rd party permissions. I'm having trouble write now writing a bash script just to toggle the natural scrolling setting on a mouse.
YouTube may automatically unmute ads if it detects user interaction, such as clicking on the video or scrolling within the YouTube interface. This practice is intended to grab attention and ensure ads are heard when the viewer shows active interest.
Unfortunately, this behavior is controlled by YouTube, and there’s no direct way to disable it. However, you can:
-Mute System Audio: Keep your device’s audio muted when browsing YouTube.
-Ad Blockers: Use browser extensions to block ads entirely, though this may violate YouTube’s terms of service.
-Premium Subscription: Subscribe to YouTube Premium to enjoy an ad-free experience.
Also, out of curiosity, did you use an LLM to write this answer, or to edit it? It reads like you might have, but I'm not sure how good I am at picking up on this sort of thing.
It's yours to the degree IP law and lawyers say it is. Your particular problem may or may not stem from that fact, but the direction things (DRM) are going in have been clear for a long time now.
It's crazy to me that apps have this access. This could lead to a lot of embarrassment in the certain settings.