No doubt, YouTube is one of the best entertainment platforms for mobile users, whether it’s watching music or informational videos. But there are certain moments when we need to switch to the other app or navigate to the different screen, and the video is going to paused automatically. Well, if you want to play the youtube videos in the background on Android or the iPhone, then you need the YouTube RED subscription. But there are many other ways by which you can play YouTube videos in the background on Android.
The official YouTube app doesn’t allow you to play the videos in the background unless you have a YouTube RED subscription. One of the reason is the ads, whenever we watch a video we see the advertisements. For instance, if we play the videos in the background, then there will be no ads. It is one of the reasons, why YouTube doesn’t allow you to play in the background. There are a certain number of third-party apps available, which helps you to play YouTube in the background.
Before Playing the Videos in Background: Check out 10 Best YouTube Downloader Apps for iPhone and Android
How to Play YouTube Videos in Background on Android
1. Web Browser (Simple & Free Method)
If you’ve had ever use YouTube in desktop mode on Chrome, Mozilla, or dolphin on your Android or iPhone smartphone, then you may know you can play YouTube with the screen off on Android and iOS as well. So, Here are the steps:
Note: Before going in to the steps, make sure to download Chrome browser on your Android & Dolphin browser on your iPhone.
How to Play YouTube Videos in the Background on Android (Chrome):
- Open Google Chrome / Mozilla on your android smartphone.
- Go to www.youtube.com.
- Play the video you want to play.
- Now click on the three-dots menu icon on Chrome/Mozilla.
- Tap on Request Desktop Site.
- Click on the play button.
- Exit the browser
- Now Resume the playback from the notification panel.
How to Play YouTube Videos in the Background on iPhone (Dolphin):
- Open Dolphin web browser on your iPhone.
- Go to www.youtube.com.
- Play any video you want and click on the play button.
- Tap on Request Desktop Site.
- Exit the browser.
- Now, Resume the playback from the iOS Control Center.
2. YouTube Vanced (YouTube Red Alternative)
If you’re looking for something similar or close to the official YouTube app. Then, this is one of a convenient way to play videos with the screen off. YouTube Vanced app packs with a bunch of useful features like the background play with a pop-up window, hide the home ads, dark mode, VP9 Codec support, and a lot more.
The YouTube Vanced doesn’t have the ability to login with the account, but you can install the MicroG Vanced APK, which allows you to log in with your Google account, by which you can access to the suggestions, personalizations, subscribed channels, etc. So, this is one of the best ways by which you can watch YouTube videos in the background.
3. YouTube Music
YouTube Music is one of the official methods by which you can enjoy or play YouTube videos in background on Android & iOS. But for that, you need to purchase the YouTube Premium service, by paying $9.99 per month. It provides you with the ad-free video playback option and also the background option. However, the option to play YouTube Music is only available for US region users. And Thankfully, a method is available to get access to the service:
Requirements: VPN and a Browser. I am using Express VPN, you can use any one.
Here’s a step by step method to Play YouTube Music in the background:
- Open the VPN and connect to the USA server.
- Now open the chrome browser.
- Head over to the music.youtube.com.
- Click on the three-dots menu icon.
- Tap on Request Desktop Site.
- Play any music video or song you want to play.
- Exit the browser and enjoy the playback.
4. SS Player (Floating Player for YouTube)
SS Player is the best third-party app or the youtube premium alternative that allows you to play the videos in the lock screen mode or with screen off. The app packs with features like, search your favorite videos, listen to the YouTube videos, popup mode (with floating mode), create your own playlists, browse the trending page or explore page, and make it convenient to you.
The floating window is one of the best features of the app, you can drag and drop it anywhere on the screen, drag to close the pop-up window, double tap to the full-screen mode, and resize it with a pinch. One of the other useful features is, SS Player allows you to play the video in the background as the music player.
5. NewPipe
NewPipe is another third-party best YouTube music alternative, which lets you play videos with screen off or in a pop-up window. The app packs with features like, YouTube & SoundCloud sport, own customized YouTube player, dark/black mode, choose the content country, captions, import or export the data from your account.
In NewPipe, the user needs to search a video from the app for play. After playing the video, click on the home button and enjoy the playback which plays the videos in the background. NewPipe is not available on the Play Store, but you can download it from F-Droid and start using the cool features.
6. Awesome Pop-Up Video
Awesome Pop-Up Video is one of the best options if you’re looking to play online videos in the background. Not only the YouTube, but you can also play the Twitter, Instagram, IGTV Videos and Vimeo videos by paste the video links into the app. It also packs with features like Playlist support, special eye candy for Xposed users, Chromecast sport, multi-window, Picture-In-Picture, and more.
Open the app click on any video if you want to play the YouTube, but if you want to play Twitter or social media videos. Then, paste the web address in the search option to play the video. Once you play, it will automatically popup the player. So, if you spent a lot of time on social media and enjoying the videos, then you can try this app.
7. Free Music for YouTube Player: Red+
Free Music for YouTube Player is of the best option if you’re looking for something lite/small app. The app comes with all the millions of video support, changing the video quality to HD, a Floating player, browse top charts, tap to pause on floating video, and more. It also allows you to import your YouTube playlist.
Talking about the usage, then open the app and play any video you want to play. Once you play a video, it will automatically open it in floating mode. Now you can simply close the app and start watching it as Picture-In-Picture mode or in the background. You can also listen to your favorite songs or music videos with the screen off.
8. Free Music for YouTube: Stream
Free Music for YouTube: Stream is of the best way to play music while your phone is locked or when your screen is off. This app comes with features like searching your favorite artists, create your own playlists, discover new music genres, explore the trending videos, choose your country. This app comes with in-app purchases option to hide ads and more.
You can play any video you want and it will minimize the YouTube video in the background or you can also play in the Pop-up window mode. You can also resize the floating mode video by pinching two fingers and also tap to pause the video.
9. Minimize for YouTube Play in Background
If you want to minimize YouTube videos and navigate to the other apps, then you can try Minimize for YouTube Play in Background app. It packs with a bunch of features like the capability to minimize videos, YouTube and Dailymotion support, Create a new playlist, Recently played, most played, only music videos option, and a lot more.
Open the app, on the homepage you’ll see the YouTube & Dailymotion videos recommendations. Tap on any video you want to play or you can also search for your favorite creator. Then close the app for the background playback. The app also lets you save the battery, so you can try this app.
10. Play YouTube App in Background (Root)
YouTube Vanced app also allows you to play the videos in the background using the official YouTube app using the Magisk Module. Here are the steps:
- At first, Disable the official YouTube app, from the app info.
- Open Magisk app.
- Search for inject YouTube Background Playback Vanced.
- Download & Enable the module.
- Restart your device.
- Now Enable the official YouTube app.
- Play any video you want.
- Exit from the app and enjoy the playback in background.
10 Ways to Play YouTube Videos in Background
These are the best possible and working ways to play YouTube videos in background on Android or iPhone or iOS device. If we miss your favorite method, let us know in the comment section. Well, there are not many options available to play the videos in the background or in lock screen mode or screen off mode. So, You can try these methods in your day to day life.
You May Also Like – 10 Best YouTube Downloader Apps for iPhone and Android
If you’ve any queries with you, drop a comment down in the comment section. Also, share this article with your friends on social media.
Your articles are really useful, so thank you for that. But talking about VPNs and youtube, I just wanted to add, that good VPN (I use Nordvpn).
Thanks Rossi!