How to disable Infinite Scroll

How to disable Infinite Scroll
and Auto-Play

One of the features of Social Media platforms that many suggest should be controlled to protect the under-16s is Infinite Scrolling - Endless Scroll.

Infinite Scrolling is a web design approach that loads new content to a page when the user scrolls down the page. As there is a potential of an unlimited amount of related data/information/video content it appears to be unlimited.

This behaviour is thought to have a major reason that the use of Social Media and the Internet in general is an addiction.

This addiction is an affect that effects ALL INTERNET USERS regardless of age, not just kids.

The solution to the general concerns about Social Media use are not evident, but it is not seen by many as something that something should be addressed.

Prior to writing this page I had not visited my Facebook page for a month. This was mainly due to the fact that I felt that the infinite scrolling was a pain.

How to disable

This is one of the goals that those that want the Social Media giants to do to curb the "damage" that Social Media user face when using such platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.

As opposed to Auto-Play, Infinite Scroll is much more problematic as Auto-play can easily be controlled by the platform creators. While auto-play is just a setting for the video content and can be set to either on or off when the video is first served, Infinite Scroll is pretty much fundamental the operation of most platforms.

The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges - Growing up in the online world: a national consutation as submission to DSIT Department for Science, Innovation and Technology - May 2026, say that the Social Media companies should do something about this situation as they identify that there is definite harm being done. They are not specific on how this should be done and whether they think that features such as Infinite Scroll are possible to control.

The Academy quote other laws such as Natasha's Law, Charlie's Law and Martyn's Law that were introduced to protect children. However, passing a law does not solve the problem.

Top

Searching for ways that Infinite Scroll coukd be controlled I came across a post on StackExchange on how to disable Infinite scroll on Facebook. The answers did not address the issue but did bring Social Fixer to my attention.

Social media as bad for young people as smoking, top doctors say - 26 May 2026

The BBC article that the medical community stated that "Social media as bad for young people as smoking". The quote below is from that article:

The consultation has seen more than 80,000 submissions from charities, campaign groups and members of the public who have given their views on a ban or other interventions.
Government data obtained by the Press Association on Tuesday showed 42,410 parents and 13,890 young people have filled in the survey.
People were also asked for opinions on possible restrictions, including night-time curfews or features such as auto-play and infinite scroll being disabled.
A number of organisations, ranging from police leaders to children's groups and trade bodies, have already shared views on what should be done.
Police leaders recently called for the government to target features instead of apps, saying those making "high-risk" features like private messaging available to children should be banned for under-16s.

Social Fixer

This is a "program" that is designed to work on a non-mobile device so it is not really a solution to the problem as most of the Social consumption is via that means.

Why Social Media is addictive