Twitter tests auto-play videos on smartphones

Follows rival social networks Facebook and Instagram with trial of videos that play as they scroll onto the screen in iOS apps

Mobile internet army, prepare to lift up your virtual pitchforks once more: Twitter is the latest social network to test videos that play automatically in its mobile apps.

The company follows Facebook and Instagram in its desire to see whether users will tolerate videos that play without being tapped on - including advertisements.

"This autoplay video test will apply to Promoted Video ads, videos that users upload through Twitter's mobile app and clips that are part of its Amplify program, which lets companies like ESPN and the NFL post videos with pre-roll ads, according to a person familiar with the matter. Videos that originate in Vine, Twitter's company's six-second-video app, will not play automatically on Twitter as part of this test."

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