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Original poster

Video ads at top of page that you can't click to get rid of

10 replies

Jshkag · 27/05/2026 18:41

Is this a new feature now? - video ads playing at the top of the page that you can't click to get rid of? They just keep on playing.
It's really horrible.
It's an M&S ad mostly but there are others.
I'm on an android phone on the mobile site.

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MNHQ

JoMumsnet · 28/05/2026 13:31

Hi @Jshkag

Thanks for asking about this. Any ads at the top of the page should have a close button which, if clicked, means the ad shouldn't show again for the remainder of the session. Is there no option to close this particular ad? Or is the button not working? Either way, please could you post a screenshot so we can take a closer look.

Thanks in advance.

MNHQ

JoMumsnet · 29/05/2026 10:37

Thanks for clarifying that, @Jshkag

A screenshot would be great if you can manage to grab one. Thanks in advance.

MNHQ

JoMumsnet · 29/05/2026 11:53

Thanks for the screenshot, @GandTtwice

We're taking a look and will be back with an update (or more questions) as soon as we can.

MNHQ

JoMumsnet · 12/06/2026 14:32

Hi all,

Huge apologies for the delay here.

Thanks to everyone who's posted and included screenshots. We're really sorry these ads are still causing issues for some of you - we know how frustrating this must be. We've been investigating but could do with some more info if possible.

@AncoraAmarena are you able to provide a screenshot of any page where these ads crop up and the audio starts playing again? If you can also listen out to what advertising is playing in the background we'll be able to hone things down further.

We'd also really appreciate it if anyone can post the URL for any page these ads are appearing.

Thanks again for bearing with us.

MNHQ

BeckyAMumsnet · 13/06/2026 16:19

Hi all.

Thanks for posting. Just to be clear, this isn’t something that should be happening. Ads shouldn’t be randomly playing sound, they shouldn’t be carrying on in the background, and anything sitting at the top of the page should have a way to close it.

From what you’ve posted, it sounds like there may be a couple of things going on here with visible video ads without a close button, and also audio starting up when there isn’t an obvious ad on the page at all. We’re looking into both as a priority.

The really useful things for us are still the page URL, and the advertiser if you can see or hear who it is. Screenshots or screen recordings are also very helpful, but we do appreciate it’s a pain to have to catch the thing in action.

Thanks to everyone who’s posted examples so far, and sorry again, we know this is incredibly annoying.

MNHQ

KellyMumsnet · 14/06/2026 22:26

Evening, everyone.

Usually with ads that are misbehaving people are able to click on them and then provide us with the url but it sounds like for most of you that's not possible with these. The url of the page you are on when the ads start playing would also be helpful though. And, as we say, screenshots are useful too if there's anything to see, though we understand that's a big ask.

Equally, if anyone has managed to get a screen recording and can email that to [email protected] with the subject header 'site stuff: video ads at top of page you can't click to get rid of' that would be enormously helpful, too. Any additional info anyone can provide about these ads is all very welcome. Thanks. Flowers

MNHQ

KellyMumsnet · 17/06/2026 09:51

Morning, everyone. We think we have fixed this issue of the ads taking up the whole of the screen now, so it should have stopped happening. Do let us know if anyone is still having problems with that. We're working on the issue of the audio auto playing right now.

Answer edited by MNHQ - apologies! We had the wrong end of the stick.

MNHQ

BeckyAMumsnet · 18/06/2026 11:54

Thanks for clarifying, @Jshkag. We've reviewed the examples you reported. Some video ad formats are designed to autoplay within their ad space and do not include a close button, so that alone wouldn't be considered a fault.

We are, however, continuing to investigate reports of ads that expand beyond their allocated space or interfere with the page experience, as that would not be expected behaviour. @AncoraAmarena could you let us know what ad you were seeing, please?

MNHQ

JoMumsnet · 19/06/2026 11:28

Hi all,

Just letting you know that we've disabled the videos we believe were causing audio to play automatically. We're really sorry for the disruption these ads have been causing.

Do please let us know if you experience any further issues with noisy ads.

MNHQ

DerekMumsnet · 26/06/2026 10:57

Hi @Darragon

Thank you so much for sending over the screenshot, it’s really helpful and gives us something concrete to investigate.

The noise issue should now be fixed, but please do let us know if it crops up again.

The issue shown in your screenshot looks to be separate: it appears to be a video ad breaking out of its intended container, which is why it’s covering the page content.

We already have an open ticket with a partner who’s helping us track this down. The more evidence we can gather, particularly screenshots showing the advertiser, ad creative, or any other identifying details, the better our chances of finding the culprit and getting it stopped.

Thanks again for taking the time to flag this. It really does help.
Best wishes,
MNHQ

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