2.2.2: Pause, Stop, Hide

What it means

Moving, blinking, scrolling, or auto-updating content that starts automatically and lasts more than five seconds must be pausable, stoppable, or hideable — unless the motion is essential. Carousels and news tickers are common triggers.

Auto-updating content distracts people and makes reading hard.

How to fix it

• Add visible Pause and Stop controls to carousels and rotating banners.
• Let users hide live feeds or stock tickers that update automatically.
• Respect prefers-reduced-motion for non-essential animation.
• Do not restart animation automatically immediately after the user paused it.

Quick examples

• Good: A homepage carousel has Pause and manual Previous/Next buttons.
• Bad: Three promo slides rotate every four seconds with no way to stop them.
• Good: Live scores update but users can collapse that panel entirely.
• Bad: A blinking banner advertises a sale and cannot be dismissed.