How to play YouTube videos in the background? Know all details here

YouTube is indeed synonymous with a video streaming platform – as the Google-owned platform boasts a whopping a number of 154 million downloads worldwide. Moreover, the video streaming and sharing platform also claims that it has over 2 billion monthly users, with people in over 100 countries. As per the platform, every minute across 80 languages and more than 500 hours of content is uploaded on YouTube.

In September 2022, YouTube's Music and Premium subscriber count worldwide, including those in trials, exceeded 80 million, which represents a significant increase of 30 million members from the 50 million announced in 2021.

This data implies that a significant number of users may be using the free version of YouTube and therefore missing out on several features, including the ability to play videos in the background. Additionally, a subscription to YouTube Premium allows users to keep playing a video even when the app is minimized or when the screen is turned off. Here are two methods you can use to play YouTube videos even when your screen is turned off:

YouTube Premium subscription

To play YouTube videos in the background using a Premium subscription, follow these steps:

• Launch the YouTube app on Android or iOS smartphone.
• Choose a video you want to watch and start playing it.
• Turn off the screen or switch to another app while the video is playing.
• The video will continue to play in the background, even if you're not actively using the app.
• If you want to keep watching the video while using other apps, you can also minimize the YouTube app and the video will continue to play in a floating window.

Using a Browser

• Launch the web browser on your smartphone and go to YouTube.com to access the web version of YouTube.
• Search for the video you want to listen to in the background and start playing it.
• Switch to desktop mode and wait for the video to start playing.
• Minimize the browser, which will pause the video.
• If you're using an Android phone, swipe down the notification panel and tap the "Play" button from the playback notification to resume playback in the background.
• If you're using an iPhone or iPad, open the control centre and tap on the Play button on the music widget to resume playback in the background.
• These steps should allow you to play YouTube videos in the background on your device without a YouTube Premium subscription.

FAQs:

1. What was the first video on YouTube?
   “Me at the zoo” by YouTube’s co-founder Jawed Karim
2. When was YouTube founded?
   February 14, 2005