5 Fast Ways: Close Pop-Up Videos with Selenium Python 2025

from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.common.by import By
from selenium.webdriver.support.ui import WebDriverWait
from selenium.webdriver.support import expected_conditions as EC
import time

# Setup WebDriver
driver = webdriver.Chrome()
driver.get("https://example.com/page-with-video-popup") # Replace with your target URL

# --- Our pop-up closing logic will go here ---

# Continue with the rest of your script
print("Pop-up handled! Continuing script...")
time.sleep(5) # Placeholder for more actions

driver.quit()

from selenium.common.exceptions import TimeoutException

# ... (after driver.get)

try:
    # Wait a maximum of 10 seconds for the close button to be clickable
    close_button = WebDriverWait(driver, 10).until(
        EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.CSS_SELECTOR, "button.close-video-popup"))
    )
    close_button.click()
    print("Method 1: Successfully closed pop-up via direct click.")
except TimeoutException:
    print("Method 1: Pop-up close button not found or not clickable within the time limit.")

# ... (rest of your script)

How to Implement It

This method doesn't require finding an element. You just send the key press to the browser.

from selenium.webdriver.common.action_chains import ActionChains
from selenium.webdriver.common.keys import Keys

# ... (after driver.get)

# It's good practice to wait for a known element inside the pop-up first
# to ensure it has loaded before you try to close it.
try:
    WebDriverWait(driver, 5).until(
        EC.presence_of_element_located((By.CSS_SELECTOR, ".video-popup-container"))
    )
    
    # Send the ESCAPE key
    actions = ActionChains(driver)
    actions.send_keys(Keys.ESCAPE).perform()
    print("Method 2: Sent ESCAPE key to close the pop-up.")
    time.sleep(1) # Give a moment for the closing animation
except TimeoutException:
    print("Method 2: Pop-up container not found, assuming no pop-up appeared.")

# ... (rest of your script)

• Pros: Works even if the close button is hidden or has a complex selector. Very simple to implement.
• Cons: Not a universal solution. Some pop-ups don't have an event listener for the Escape key.

Method 3: The JavaScript Executor (The Power Move)

Sometimes, a standard Selenium .click() fails. The element might be obscured by another (invisible) element, or a JavaScript event listener might be interfering. This is where you bring out the big guns: executing JavaScript directly.

A JavaScript click often bypasses the Selenium WebDriver's visibility checks and can trigger the action more forcefully. For the most stubborn cases, you can even use JavaScript to remove the pop-up from the DOM entirely.

Option A: The JavaScript Click

# ...
try:
    # Find the element first
    close_button = WebDriverWait(driver, 10).until(
        EC.presence_of_element_located((By.XPATH, "//div[@id='video-ad']/button[@class='close']))"))
    )
    # Execute a JS click
    driver.execute_script("arguments[0].click();", close_button)
    print("Method 3: Closed pop-up using JavaScript click.")
except TimeoutException:
    print("Method 3: Could not find pop-up to JS click.")

Option B: The DOM Removal (Use with Caution!)

This is the nuclear option. It doesn't 'close' the pop-up; it deletes it from the page.

# ...
try:
    # Find the main container of the pop-up
    popup_container = WebDriverWait(driver, 10).until(
        EC.presence_of_element_located((By.ID, "video-popup-wrapper"))
    )
    # Execute JS to remove the element
    driver.execute_script("arguments[0].remove();", popup_container)
    print("Method 3: Forcibly removed pop-up element from DOM.")
except TimeoutException:
    print("Method 3: Could not find pop-up element to remove.")

• Pros: Extremely powerful and reliable, especially the JS click. Can bypass many anti-automation defenses.
• Cons: Removing elements can sometimes break other page scripts or leave the page in an unstable state (e.g., the greyed-out overlay remains).

Method 4: Switching to an iFrame (The Hidden Layer)

Is your script swearing the close button doesn't exist, even though you can see it on the screen? You're probably dealing with an <iframe>. Many third-party ads and video players are loaded inside an iframe, which is like a separate webpage embedded within the main page. Selenium can't see inside it by default.

You must explicitly switch the driver's context into the iframe first.

How to Implement It

First, inspect the page to find the <iframe> tag. It might have an ID, name, or you can find it by its index.

# ...
try:
    # Wait for the iframe to be present and switch to it
    WebDriverWait(driver, 10).until(
        EC.frame_to_be_available_and_switch_to_it((By.CSS_SELECTOR, "iframe[title='advertisement-video']"))
    )
    
    # NOW you are inside the iframe, you can find the close button
    close_button_in_iframe = WebDriverWait(driver, 5).until(
        EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.ID, "close-ad-btn"))
    )
    close_button_in_iframe.click()
    print("Method 4: Switched to iframe and closed pop-up.")

finally:
    # CRITICAL: Always switch back to the main page content
    driver.switch_to.default_content()
    print("Switched back to default content.")

# ... (rest of your script)

• Pros: The only way to interact with elements inside an iframe.
• Cons: Adds complexity. Forgetting to switch_to.default_content() is a common bug that will make the rest of your script fail.

Method 5: The Exception Catcher (Defensive Programming)

What if the pop-up doesn't appear every time? A subscription pop-up might only show to first-time visitors. If your script *always* tries to close it, it will fail with a TimeoutException when the pop-up isn't there.

The solution is to wrap your closing logic in a try...except block. This makes your script resilient. It tries to close the pop-up, but if it can't find it after a short wait, it simply assumes it wasn't there and moves on.

How to Implement It

This is a strategy that combines with other methods. Here it is with Method 1:

# ... (after driver.get)

def handle_optional_popup(driver):
    try:
        # Use a SHORT timeout. We don't want to wait long if it's not there.
        close_button = WebDriverWait(driver, 3).until(
            EC.element_to_be_clickable((By.CSS_SELECTOR, "button.close-video-popup"))
        )
        close_button.click()
        print("Method 5: Optional pop-up found and closed.")
    except TimeoutException:
        # If the button isn't found after 3 seconds, just continue.
        print("Method 5: No optional pop-up appeared. Continuing script.")

# Call the handler function
handle_optional_popup(driver)

# ... (rest of your script)

• Pros: Makes your script incredibly robust and able to handle inconsistent UI behavior.
• Cons: Can mask a real problem if your locator is wrong and the pop-up *is* actually there. That's why a short timeout is key.

Which Method Should You Use? A Quick Comparison

Here's a quick cheat sheet to help you decide which approach to take.

Method	Best For	Reliability	Complexity
1. Direct Click	Simple, well-defined pop-ups with clear close buttons.	Medium (brittle to UI changes)	Low
2. Escape Key	Modal dialogs where the close button is hard to find.	Medium (not all pop-ups support it)	Low
3. JS Executor	Stubborn pop-ups that block Selenium's click or need to be obliterated.	High	Medium
4. iFrame Switch	Pop-ups loaded from third-party sources (e.g., ads).	High (when applicable)	High
5. Exception Catcher	Pop-ups that don't appear on every page load.	(Strategy) Enhances reliability of other methods.	Low

Conclusion: Building Resilient Scripts

Dealing with pop-up videos is a classic cat-and-mouse game in web automation. There's no single magic bullet, but by building a toolbox of strategies, you can create scripts that are robust and resilient.

Start with the simplest method—a direct click with a WebDriverWait. If that fails, escalate your approach: try the Escape key, then a JavaScript click. If you suspect an iframe, you know how to dive in. And for all of these, wrap your logic in a defensive try...except block to handle cases where the pop-up decides not to show up.

By mastering these five techniques, you'll spend less time debugging frustrating exceptions and more time gathering the data or getting the test results you need. Happy automating!

What's the most stubborn pop-up you've ever had to automate? Share your war stories in the comments below!