MuteTab

Take control of noisy tabs: mute by default, blacklists, and more

MuteTab is a powerful Chrome extension designed to give you full control over browser tab sounds. It identifies noisy tabs, mutes them by default if you choose, and helps manage audio even across multiple windows or incognito modes. Its features include muting all or background tabs, whitelists and blacklists for exceptions, and a music list that excludes your favorite players when muting other tabs. Privacy mode allows muting all sounds instantly, and keyboard shortcuts make audio control seamless.

With a history of improvements since its initial 2011 release, MuteTab enhances your browsing by showing only tabs playing sound, offering experimental music ducking to balance videos and music, and providing clear tab mute/unmute commands. If you want a tidy, quiet browsing experience with advanced audio controls specific to tabs, MuteTab is the ideal choice.

Download

By:: https://www.mutetab.com
Users:: 20,000+
Rating:: 4.13
(93)
Version:: 3.0.12 (Last updated: 2023-06-26)
Creation date:: 2019-08-05
Risk:: Moderate risk impact Low risk likelihood
Permissions:: tabs
storage
contextMenus
Size:: 726.02K
Email:: mu*****@gmail.com
URLs:: Website
Full description:: See detailed description
Source:: Chrome Web Store
Updated:: 18 hours ago

Ranking

# 5,759 ▼ 309

Other rankings

#3035 in Workflow & Planning ▼ 11

#69 in prevent keyword 29 ▼ 4

#94 in include keyword 11 ▲ 8

#186 in permission keyword 13 ▲ 7

#188 in release keyword 25 ▲ 5

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User reviews

Pros

Effectively mutes background tabs or all tabs by default.
Provides a 'music ducking' feature that automatically mutes other audio while videos play, solving user annoyances.
Simple and easy to use with one-click or keyboard shortcuts to mute tabs.
Helps identify noisy tabs and manage tab audio easily.
Supports muting in incognito mode when enabled.

Cons

Unmuting muted tabs can be clumsy and unintuitive, requiring use of the extension's toolbar icon rather than standard tab controls.
The extension sometimes mutes the active tab without easy settings to prevent this, leading users to manually unmute or whitelist sites.
There are issues with keyboard shortcut settings being outdated or not visible in certain Chrome versions.
Lack of a one-click mute/unmute toggle on the toolbar icon makes muting controls less convenient.
Some users report the extension not automatically unmuting previously muted tabs when switched back to, reducing ease of use.

Recent reviews

Love this app. If anyone has any recommended alternatives for when this no longer works, let me know.

Sean Flesch, 2025-03-21

It needs to be updated (-__-) I still use this and it works perfectly the way it is. Otherwise chrome keeps turning it off... Such an annoying and demanding browser... (-__-)

Daniels, 2024-12-20

Works like a charm!

Nelson Martinho, 2024-10-20

View all user reviews

Extension safety

Risk impact

MuteTab requires a few sensitive permissions. Exercise caution before installing.

Risk impact analysis details

Critical Grants access to browser tabs, which can be used to track user browsing habits and history, presenting a privacy concern.

Risk likelihood

MuteTab has earned a fairly good reputation and likely can be trusted.

Risk likelihood analysis details

High This extension has low user count. Unpopular extensions may not be stable or safe.
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