YouTube is one of the most varied content platforms in the world, and its easy to find tutorials, TV shows, and even the latest music videos. But its not just about the watching sometimes all you want to do is listen to YouTube in the background, busying yourself with something else on your phone.
Closing the YouTube app will stop the video from playing, but there are a few simple workarounds that will allow you to listen to a video in the background. Better yet, there are ways to get a mini pop-up YouTube player while you browse elsewhere.
This is our simple guide on how to play YouTube in the background, for both iOS and Android devices.
Looking for music on YouTube to listen to in the background? Perhaps you should take a look at our guide on how to download music from YouTube and listen on any device.
YouTube Premium [Android, iOS]
YouTube Premium is a subscription service thatgets rid of ads on desktop and mobile, opens access to exclusive videos, and allows for the downloading of videos. But crucially for our purposes, it also allows you to continue listening after shutting off your phones screen or navigating to a different app.
YouTube Premium also comes with ad-free access to YouTube Music [the replacement of Google Play Music] and Premium gives you the option to shut off the screen in that app, too. What is the catch? As you might expect, its money. YouTube Premium will cost you $12 a month or $18 for a family subscription for up to six members but you can get a one-month free trial. As you know, YouTubes app is available for both Android and iOS.
Playing videos in certain browsers [iOS]
While shutting off the screen and continuing to listen to YouTube is a no-no in Safari and Chrome, its possible to use Apples Control Center with certain other browsers to bypass YouTubes restrictions. Firefox and Opera Touch are two browsers that definitely work with this method, and we recommend testing out any other iOS browsers you prefer.
Heres how you can get this method to work.
- First, navigate to YouTube from your browser of choice.
- Then, search for your chosen video.
- Once youve found and opened your video, change over to the desktop version of the site. Note: This will vary depending on which browser youre using, but its usually accessed from the Options button in the top-right, followed by a tap on the Desktop Site option.
- Start your video playing.
- Now go back to your Home screen, and swipe up to reveal your Control Center.
- You should be able to hit a Play button to keep playing your video, even while the screen is off.
Be warned, you probably wont be able to shut it off from the Control Center again, but you can access the browser again to stop the video.
Playing videoswith Firefox and Chrome [Android]
Playing YouTube videos in the background in Android can be done with both Firefox and Google Chrome. You can use either browser, but your version of Chrome must beversion 54 or higher.
- Launch Firefox or Chrome as you would normally and go to theYouTube website. Make sure to type youtube.com in the URL entry, as tapping YouTube in Google search results will usually cause it to open the app.
- Navigateto the video you want to play in the background.
- Go to the Settings menu by tapping the three dots in the upper-right corner of the window. Afterward, tapRequest Desktop Site.
- Start playing the video, and press the Home button to close your browser. Note: Ifthe video stops playing while usingChrome, you may also have to pull down the notifications bar and press play. Make sure you dont close the screen before pressing the Home button, as that will cause the video to automatically stop.
Picture-in-picture mode in Android 8.0 Oreo and later
This one seems like a bit of a cheat because its not an app at all. Ever since Android 8.0 Oreo, Android has enabled a picture-in-picture mode, which automatically pops up a miniature viewing window if you navigate away from YouTube. This window can be dragged anywhere on the screen and tapped to enlarge or to access playback controls.
This used to be for Premium subscribers only, but in 2018, Google started offering picture-in-picture on YouTube to non-subscribers too, so long as youre in the United States. However, it wont work with content classified as music, so youll still need to pay for that.
On most Android phones, finding out which version you have is pretty easy. Simply go to Settings > About Phone > Android Version. Check out our guide to see if your phone received an Android Oreo update, and then find out everything you need to know about the latest software update, Android 11.
Picture-in-picture mode for iOS
After a long wait, YouTube is finally rolling out picture-in-picture mode for all premium U.S. subscribers on iOS. The feature will also soon be rolled out to non-premium subscribers, so all iOS users in the U.S. will be able to watch YouTube videos in a pop-up window when the app is closed. There shouldnt be too much longer to wait for this feature, but while youre waiting for the rollout, you can continue to use the Apple Control Center workaround we mentioned earlier.
Playing videos with Awesome Pop-up Video [Android]
While Android 8.0 Orea has built-in features for YouTube viewing, if you have an earlier version, you can just download an app. Awesome Pop-up Video will play your chosen video in a pop-up window so you can do other things while the video is playing. Simply download Awesome Pop-up Video from Google Play, and then search directly in the app for whatever video you want to watch. Tap it, and it will open in a separate window that you can drag around the screen, similar to the Oreo picture-in-picture mode.
If you close the screen, unfortunately, your video will stop. However, with the picture-in-picture format, you can at least use your main screen with the audio basically in the background. Awesome Pop-Up Video also offers a premium option for viewing downloaded videos offline and removing ads. However, offline viewing isnt available for YouTube videos.