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How to Play YouTube in Background on iPhone and Android: In point of fact, YouTube is a platform that allows users to stream videos. The platform, which is owned by Google, has received 154 million downloads all over the world, which is an extremely high number. According to the website that allows users to stream and share videos, the platform is utilised by more than two billion people from more than one hundred countries on a monthly basis. More than five hundred hours of content are uploaded to YouTube every minute, and it is available in eighty different languages.
On the basis of this information, it is possible that a significant number of YouTube users are utilising the free version, leaving them without access to certain features, such as the capability to play videos in the background. An additional benefit of having a YouTube Premium subscription is that users are able to continue playing a video even if the app is minimised or the screen is turned off. Keeping YouTube videos playing even when your screen is turned off can be accomplished in two different ways how to Play YouTube in Background on iPhone and Android.
What is YouTube Premium?
YouTube Premium is a paid service that lets you get rid of ads on your computer and phone, watch exclusive videos, and download videos. But most importantly for us, it lets you keep watching YouTube in the background even if you turn off your phone’s screen or switch to a different app. This is already turned on, so as long as you have YouTube Premium, you shouldn’t have to do anything to get it to work.
YouTube Premium also gives you access to YouTube Music without ads and lets you turn off the screen in that app. How does it work? Money, as you might guess. YouTube Premium costs $12 a month, or $23 a month for a family plan with up to six people. You can try it out for free for one month. You can get the YouTube app for both the Android and the iPhone.
How to Play YouTube in Background on iPhone and Android
On iPhone
- Open the Safari browser on your iPhone and go to the YouTube official website. If this redirects you to the YouTube app, you might need to uninstall it.
- Find the video you want to play and start playing it.
- Tap the aA icon in the bottom-left corner of the screen and select Request Desktop Website.
- This will cause the page to reload and open in the desktop view. Tap the video to start playing it again.
- Close the browser. The sound will stop, which is normal.
- Open the Control Center and press the play button in the box that shows what music is currently playing.
On Android
- Open youtube.com on Google Chrome.
- After the page is loaded, tap on the vertical three-dots icon on the top-right and select Desktop site.
- Now search for any video and open it.
- On the next page, your video will automatically start playing.
- Now exit to the home screen, but you’ll notice that the video will stop playing in the background.
- Pull down the notification shade, and you will see the media controls of the video that you just played.
- Now simply tap play and your video will start playing in the background.
Why Play YouTube in Background?
- Multitasking: lets you keep listening to music or video audio while using other apps or doing other things on your device.
- This feature: helps you be more productive by letting you listen to tutorials, podcasts, or educational content without having to open the YouTube app.
- It’s convenient: because you can listen to content without being interrupted, like when you switch between apps or lock the screen.
- Accessibility: Users can watch content while using other apps or when the device screen is off. This makes it easier for people who have trouble seeing or who prefer audio-only content.
- Continuous Playback: This feature lets you watch playlists or long videos over and over again without having to keep the YouTube app open or the device screen on.
Comparison of Background YouTube Playback Methods on iPhone vs. Android
| Feature | iPhone | Android |
|---|---|---|
| Background Playback Supported? | Limited support, requires YouTube Premium subscription | Supported via third-party apps or YouTube Premium subscription |
| Native YouTube App | Requires YouTube Premium subscription for background play | Requires YouTube Premium subscription for background play |
| Third-Party Apps | Not officially supported | Supported through various third-party apps like NewPipe, Vanced |
| Browser Method | Limited functionality, may require desktop site | Can play YouTube in background through browser without issues |
| Overall Accessibility | More restrictions due to Apple ecosystem | More flexibility due to Android’s open nature and third-party apps |
Conclusion
On most devices, you can play YouTube videos, but the app doesn’t let you play videos in the background by default. Because of this, it might not be easy to watch videos or listen to music on YouTube when your phone’s screen is off or while using other apps. There are, however, ways to get around this problem so that you can play YouTube audio in the background on your device. We will show you how to do this in this tutorial.
Questions and Answers
Since the app is free, YouTube doesn’t want to let it play in the background for free users because those users might not watch the ads, which means the company loses money.
Why does the video stop playing when I leave YouTube and open another app? With picture-in-picture (PiP), a video is shrunk down into a small player that you can watch while using other apps on your phone. Go to the settings on your Android. Notifications and apps Advanced: Access to special apps.
In the US, you can still use PiP even if you don’t have YouTube Premium. But you won’t be able to watch music videos or other items. Note: If you’re not in the US, you’ll need a YouTube Premium account to use PiP with any YouTube video.