Technology: Facebook Testing Auto Video Playback in Mobile Feed

Facebook recently announced that it will soon begin playing videos embedded in users' newsfeed automatically. To start, only videos shared by individuals or bands will be played. Facebook will not be showing video ads.

 All videos will be played in silent mode, with the sound off, until users press the video. The sound will then come on and it will expand to full-screen viewing. Users who don't wish to watch the videos in their newsfeed can simply scroll past them.

The feature is rolling out to mobile phones over the course of the next few weeks. Facebook said the feature is being tested in a limited fashion and will become more widely available over time.

This is another step for Facebook to boost its status as competition in the social media heats up.