We all like to be totally multitasking: play background music and watch our favorite series, while writing on a laptop or checking our social networks on the phone. However, there are applications like YouTube that make the task difficult. Although it is not impossible, if you want to listen to YouTube in the background, regardless of what you are doing on your iOS or Android cell phone, you need more than good intentions.
YouTube Premium (Android, iOS)
YouTube Premium – known in the past as YouTube Red – allows you to avoid ads on desktops and mobile devices, gives you access to exclusive videos, allows you to download them and – of course! – also allows users to continue listening after turn off your phone screen or navigate a different application. YouTube Premium also provides ad-free access to YouTube Music, the replacement for Google Play Music, giving you the option to turn off the screen in that app. The trap? Obvious: money. YouTube Premium will cost you $ 12 a month or $ 18 for a family subscription of up to six members.
Playing videos in certain browsers (iOS)
It is possible to turn off the screen and continue listening to YouTube with the Apple Control Center, yes, with certain browsers to avoid YouTube restrictions. Firefox and Opera Touch definitely work with this method, although we also recommend trying this with some other iOS browser that you prefer.
That’s how it works:
Step 1 : First, go to YouTube from the browser of your choice.
Step 2 : Then search for the chosen 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 vary depending on the browser you are using, but is generally accessed from the Options button in the upper right, followed by tapping on the Desktop Site option.
Step 4 : start 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 press the Play (Play) button to continue playing your video, even when the screen is off.
Be careful, you probably won’t be able to turn it off again from the Control Center, but you will be able to access the browser again to stop the video.
Play the video in Chrome or Firefox (Android)
Playing videos in the background using an Android device can be done with 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 you normally would and head to YouTube.
Step 2: navigate to the video you want to play.
Step 3: go to the configuration menu, clicking on the three dots that are in the upper right part of the window. Then, click on “Require desktop site.”
Step 4: start playing the video and press the start button to close the browser. If the video stops playing while using Chrome, you can slide the notification bar and press “play”.
Play store
Picture-in-picture mode in Android 8.0 Oreo and later
This seems a bit misleading as it is not an app at all. Android 8.0 Oreo, the penultimate version of Google’s mobile operating system, supports “picture-in-picture mode”, automatically popping up a thumbnail window if you browse outside YouTube. This window can be dragged anywhere on the screen and touched to enlarge or to access the playback controls.
It used to be a feature restricted to YouTube Red subscribers only, but with the introduction of YouTube Premium, Google has started to offer this YouTube picture-in-picture mode to non-subscribers as well. However, it won’t work with content classified as music, so you’ll still have to pay for it.
You can check what version of Android you have in Settings> About phone> Android version (this order may vary on some phones), or checking if your phone has Android Oreo.
Play videos with Awesome Pop-Up (Android)
We have to mention an app called Awesome Pop-up video, along with its Premium counterpart. The second allows you to play videos of more than 5 minutes in length. We suggest you look at the free version first so you know if you like the software. Both work in the same way and will play the video you want in a pop-up window while doing other things on the phone.
Step 1: go to YouTube on your Android phone.
Step 2: navigate to the video you want to play in the background and copy the URL.
Step 3: Copy the URL into the app and tap the icon on the right.
Step 4: close the application and the video and a small pop-up will immediately appear.
And since you’re around here, you might also be interested in taking a look at our guide on how to download music from YouTube and listen to it on any device.