{"id":5722,"date":"2023-08-31T11:42:44","date_gmt":"2023-08-31T11:42:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessyield.com\/tech\/?p=5722"},"modified":"2023-08-31T11:42:46","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T11:42:46","slug":"how-to-get-youtube-to-play-in-the-background","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessyield.com\/tech\/how-to\/how-to-get-youtube-to-play-in-the-background\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Get YouTube to Play in the Background: Free Tips","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\n
You can find just about anything on YouTube, from how-to videos and TV shows to music videos and even full concerts. But it’s not all about the videos; sometimes,\u00a0all you want to do most times is listen to some YouTube videos while\u00a0multitasking on your phone or device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s the thing though, while, by the default, the video will stop playing if you close the YouTube app, there are a few simple tricks\u00a0to keep it playing in the background on\u00a0iOS and Android devices. You can have a miniature YouTube player pop up while you do other things. Here is a quick guide on how to set up background YouTube play on your iOS or Android device.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
YouTube Premium is the platform’s paid subscription service that includes all of YouTube’s bells and whistles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You get the following benefits with YouTube Premium:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, the most appealing feature of YouTube Premium is the ability to lock your screen while watching YouTube videos on your iPhone or Android.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the one-month free trial, all of this will cost you $11.99 per month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what if you want to watch YouTube videos on your iPhone without paying for Premium? This is where web browsers come into play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While turning off the screen while listening to YouTube is not permitted in Safari or Chrome, it is possible to circumvent YouTube’s restrictions by using Apple’s Control Center in conjunction with certain other browsers. Firefox and Opera are two browsers that are unquestionably compatible with this method, and we recommend trying out any other iPhone browsers you prefer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While this requires a few more steps, it allows you to play YouTube videos in the background on your iPhone without spending any money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Playing YouTube videos in the background in Android can be accomplished in Firefox in a manner similar to that described above for iPhone. We tested this on Firefox, but it may also work on other, smaller browsers. However, it is unlikely to work on any browsers that use Chrome as their foundation, as Chrome has removed this option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This one appears to be a bit of a sham because it isn’t an app at all. Since Android 8.0 Oreo, Android has supported “picture-in-picture mode,” which automatically opens a miniature viewing window if you navigate away from YouTube. This window can be dragged and tapped anywhere on the screen to enlarge or access playback controls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was previously only available to Premium subscribers. Still, in 2018, Google began offering picture-in-picture on YouTube to non-subscribers as well, as long as you live in the United States. However, it will not work with music-related content, so you will still have to pay for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is pretty simple to determine which version of Android you have on most phones. Navigate to Settings > About phone > Android version to find out. You’ll need at least Android 8.0 Oreo for this feature, and since Oreo is more than five years old, you’re probably using a phone with it or something newer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To get YouTube to play in the background, use the desktop version of YouTube in your Chrome browser. This is how it works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Similarly, picture-in-picture mode is available to all iPhone users with\u00a0a YouTube Premium subscription. Non-premium US users can also access the feature. In other words, even if you don’t have Premium, all iPhone users in the United States can watch YouTube videos in a pop-up window when the app is closed. There’s nothing to it;\u00a0start playing and\u00a0return to your home page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Any workarounds that allow YouTube to play in the background may be removed at any time as YouTube tries to figure out how to close the loop. If you rely on this, you must subscribe to YouTube’s services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
YouTube has two subscription options. For $11.99 per month, YouTube Premium (previously known as Red) allows you to play videos in the background and gives you access to original video content. For $9.99 per month, YouTube Music is a music streaming service that allows YouTube videos to play in the background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another option is downloading the videos to your device and avoiding using the YouTube app entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you have a Premium subscription, use the official YouTube app to download a YouTube video on an Android device. Locate the video you want to download and tap it. You can use a third-party app if you don’t have a subscription.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Open YouTube in a web browser to play a YouTube video in a loop. Loop the video by right-clicking or long-pressing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Android smartphones running Android 8.0 Oreo and later, you can minimize YouTube by enabling Picture-in-Picture mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You can watch YouTube videos while using other apps by\u00a0subscribing to YouTube Premium, playing YouTube in a browser, or enabling PiP mode.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A YouTube Premium subscription is required to watch YouTube with the screen turned off. On Android, you can use browsers like Google Chrome and Firefox, while on iPhone, you can use Safari and Opera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you want\u00a0access to all of YouTube’s features, including playing\u00a0YouTube in the background, you can purchase a YouTube Premium subscription.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you’re among the millions of people who watch YouTube every day and want to watch videos in the background for free, you’ll need to use the desktop view on your browser or enable PiP mode, which has some limitations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n