How can an iPhone play YouTube in the background? Good news for iOS users who wish to stream YouTube videos in the background while multitasking on their phones. Apple customers have long wanted the option to choose between picture-in-picture and background play for YouTube, which is now available.
Numerous users enjoy streaming music on YouTube, but the software prevents them from using any other programme on their mobile device, which is inconvenient. If you wish to know how to play YouTube in the background on an iPhone, then you should read this article.
Method 1: Take a YouTube premium subscription
A premium membership grants your YouTube app the ability to play in the background even when you’re simultaneously using many other apps. Sign up for the premium subscription package to gain access to this feature by following the steps below:
- Go to the YouTube Premium homepage
- Choose the Try It Free option
- Fill in your billing details once the checkout page opens
- Pay 1 USD to verify payment details validity
YouTube Premium Plans:
When you sign up, you receive a three-month free trial. Depending on the selected package, the amount will be immediately deducted from your registered bank account once the event concludes. The cost of the monthly package for one account is $11.99. If you are a student, however, this fee is reduced to $6.99 USD. A 6-account subscription package for $17.99 per month is an additional attractive offer.
How to Use the You Tube Background Play Feature:
- Open the YouTube application.
- Play any video you want to try this feature on.
- Now, you can switch either to another app or simply lock your iPhone’s screen.
- Use the control center of your phone to play and pause the audio.
You can customize the feature through YouTube settings. By tapping on the Background Play, you get options to enable any of these: Off, Always on, Connected to External Speakers or Headphones.
Aside from Background Play, a Premium YouTube account will provide you with the following additional advantages:
- Create an offline watchlist by downloading unlimited videos.
- Get access to YouTube Music and YouTube originals in a single app.
- No need to wait for the Skip Ad button anymore, as the premium account will remove all the advertisements.
Also Read: How to Generate SSH Keys in Windows 10?
Method 2: Use Apple’s Safari app
The iPhone’s background play capability can also be enabled by opening YouTube videos via Safari instead of the YouTube app. Here is what must be done:
- On Safari, visit the official website of YouTube.
- From the list, play any video you want.
- On the down left corner, click on the aA icon.
- Choose the Request Desktop Website.
- Go to the control center of your phone.
- Check out the box that displays whichever current music is playing.
- Tap on the play button.
- The YouTube video will start playing in the background.
Things to note while following the above steps:
- You will need to uninstall your YouTube app in case Safari redirects you to your iPhone’s YouTube application when you try to open it through its website.
- You might be redirected to YouTube’s homepage after tapping on the Request Desktop Website instead of staying on the page where the video is playing. In this scenario, click on the back arrow option to get back to the video.
- When you first close the Safari app, the sound won’t play, which normally happens. Just keep following the steps as instructed above.
- If you’re streaming an entire YouTube playlist in the background, then you will need to follow the above-given steps for each video.
- Some iPhone models allow users to access the control center with a downward swipe from the screen’s upper right corner or an upward swipe from the bottom edge. Thus, it makes the entire process more quick.
Also Read: How to Download Youtube Videos in Mac?
Method 3: Use free Safari extension: PiPiFire
You can find the extension in the App Store; once downloaded on the phone, follow the below steps to use it:
- Open iPhone’s settings and choose Safari
- Locate Extensions option
- Enable PiPeFire from the list
- Select YouTube.com and tap on Allow
- Open Safari and visit YouTube.com
- Play any video, then tap on the video screen
- A picture-in-picture icon will show up in the upper left corner
- Tap on the icon to minimize the video you played
- Swipe it to the screen’s edge and browse other apps or web pages easily
Final words
This tip on how to play YouTube in the background on an iPhone should prove useful. Currently, only YouTube premium, which is a subscription service, has built-in background play features. Other alternatives are free to use, but some users may find them confusing. Therefore, ensure that your choice is convenient.
