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How do fullscreen video controls work?

Reviewed October 17, 2026

Open a video from a chat or either Media & Files library. Current web, phone browsers, iOS and Android share Play/Pause, Mute/Unmute, a seek bar and Exit fullscreen.

Answer

When controls are hidden, tap the video or empty black space to reveal them without pausing. With controls visible, tap that surface to pause or resume. Use Play/Pause directly, or Space when the video surface has keyboard focus. Mute/Unmute restores the previous volume.

Drag the seek bar to choose a time. Playback resumes after dragging only if it was playing before. Controls hide after about three seconds while playing, but remain available during pause, scrubbing, hover, keyboard focus and screen-reader navigation. Mouse movement reveals them on web.

Close, Exit fullscreen or Escape closes the viewer. Desktop Previous/Next arrows move between media. Forward sends the video to a chat; it is not fast-forward. Pinch zoom, annotations and available captions remain supported without enlarging controls.