On YouTube, you can watch movies, series, tutorials, and of course music videos of your favorite artists for free. But you can’t always keep your eyes on the screen: sometimes you just want to listen to YouTube in the background – in the background – while doing other things on your phone. Is it possible to do this?
Closing the YouTube app stops the video from playing, although there are a few simple workarounds that will allow you to listen to the video in the background. Even better, there are ways to make the YouTube mini player appear when you’re browsing something else, on both iOS and Android devices.
Also check out our guides on how to download videos from YouTube, how to download music from YouTube and most viewed YouTube videos of all time.
YouTube Premium (Android, iOS)
YouTube Premium is a subscription service that allows you to avoid ads on desktop and mobile devices, gives you access to exclusive videos, allows you to download them, and of course, allows users to continue listening after turning off the screen. phone or view in another app. YouTube Premium also gives you ad-free access to YouTube Music, a replacement for Google Play Music, by giving you the option to turn off the screen in this app. Trap? Obviously: money. YouTube Premium will cost you $12 a month or $18 for a family subscription of up to six members, but you can get a 30-day free trial. As you know, YouTube is available for Android and iOS.
Video playback in certain browsers (iOS)
It is possible to turn off the screen and continue listening to YouTube using the Apple Control Center, yes, with some browsers, to avoid YouTube restrictions. Firefox and Opera Touch definitely work with this method, though we also recommend trying it with whatever other iOS browser you prefer.
Here’s how it works:
Step 1: First, access YouTube from the browser of your choice.
Step 2: Then search for the selected video.
Step 3: Once you have found and opened the video you want to watch, switch to the desktop version of the site. This will depend on the browser you are using, but it is usually accessed via a button Options in the top right corner and then tap the option desktop site.
Step 4: Starts video playback.
step 5: Now go back to the home screen and swipe up to see the Control Center.
step 6: you should be able to click the button play (play) to keep playing the video even when the screen is off.
Beware, you probably won’t be able to turn it off again from the Control Center, but you should be able to access your browser again to stop the video.
Video playback in Chrome or Firefox (Android)
Playing videos in the background with an Android device can be done in both Firefox and Chrome. You can use any, but your version of Chrome must be at least version 54.
Step 1: Launch Firefox or Chrome as usual and go to YouTube. Be sure to enter “youtube.com” in the URL bar, as a Google search for YouTube will usually open the app.
Step 2: Navigate to the video you want to play.
Step 3: Enter the configuration menu by clicking on the three dots that are located in the upper right part of the window. Then click on Desktop site required.
Step 4: start playing the video and press the home button to close the browser. If a video stops playing while using Chrome, you can slide the notification bar and tap play. Make sure you don’t close the screen before pressing the button houseas this will cause the video to stop automatically.
Picture-in-picture mode on Android 8.0 Oreo and above
This is a little misleading as it is not an app at all. Starting with Android 8.0 Oreo, Google’s mobile operating system supports “picture-in-picture” (picture-in-picture) mode, automatically opening a thumbnail window when you leave YouTube. This window can be dragged to any location on the screen and clicked to enlarge or access playback controls.
Previously, this feature was only available to Premium subscribers, but in 2018, Google began offering this YouTube picture-in-picture mode to non-subscribers as well. However, it won’t work with content classified as music, so you still have to pay for it.
On most Android phones, it’s easy to tell which version you have. just go to Settings>About phone>Android version.
Picture-in-Picture for iOS
After a long wait, picture-in-picture mode is finally here for all US premium subscribers on iOS. this feature will also be available to non-premium subscribers soon, so all iOS users in the US will be able to watch YouTube videos in a pop-up window when the app is closed. This feature will arrive shortly before this feature arrives, but while you’re waiting, you can still use the option in your Apple Control Center that we mentioned earlier.
Video playback with Awesome Pop-Up Video (Android)
While Android 8.0 Oreo has built-in features for watching YouTube, if you have an earlier version, you just need to download the app. Awesome Pop-Up Video will play the video of your choice in a pop-up window so you can do other things while the video is playing. Just download the app from Google Play and then search for the video you want to watch directly in the app. Click on it and it will open in a separate window that you can drag around the screen, similar to Oreo’s picture-in-picture mode.
However, if you close the screen, your video will stop. But with picture-in-picture, you can at least use your home screen with sound in the background. Awesome Pop-Up Video also offers a premium option to watch downloaded videos offline and remove ads. Although this option is not available for YouTube videos.
Source: Digital Trends
