Although it seems a simple and essential option, the YouTube application for Android does not yet offer the possibility of playing videos in the background. In this article, we will present how to play youtube in the background on android.

At least, not for free. While those subscribers of the paid version of the most popular video platform on the planet do have this feature available, we must not forget that YouTube Premium has not yet reached some countries. There is no official form of Play videos with the application closed.

How to play youtube in the background on Android

This is Android, and that means that with enough imagination, you can do virtually anything, including playing YouTube videos in the background. In this guide, we will see all possible ways to do it, and the procedure to follow in each case.

With YouTube Premium

The first of the ways and the only official one is to use YouTube Premium, the YouTube payment method. Among the advantages of this variant of the platform. It is possible to play videos in the background, and even with the screen turned off.

To do this, the first step will logically be to have a subscription to YouTube Premium. Although it will depend on the country, the price of this modality is 11.99 euros per month, but it is possible to try all the functions included in the subscription for free for a month. To do this, you just have to start the subscription period in the Google account associated with the YouTube app on our Android device, and once active, start playing videos in the background. It’s that simple.

Using the desktop version of YouTube

Another “semi-official” option is to do it through the desktop version of the website. Google has not yet blocked. This option, which allows you to play YouTube videos with the screen turned off.

To do this, you just have to open YouTube in Chrome or in any other browser installed on our Android device. And from the settings menu, enable the option “see as on computer” or similar. In this way, when opening any video and returning to the home screen, it will be possible to continue listening to it. If it stops when you exit the browser, it would be enough to display the notification panel and press the Play button on the YouTube banner.

With a browser

Although Google blocks YouTube playback in the background through Chrome – using the mobile version of the web, though – the same does not happen with other alternative Android browsers. Therefore, if you do not use Google Chrome and want to play YouTube in the background, it would be enough to access the website of the platform, start playing the video and exit the browser.

This option works in some browsers, but not all. Firefox, for example, allows you to watch the video in a small floating window thanks to the native Android PiP mode, but if you close this mini player, the video stops. To solve this problem, install the Video Background Play Fix plug-in, which allows you to play YouTube videos with the browser in the background.

With apps like YouTube Vanced

If none of the above solutions convinces you, you can always use one of the many alternative YouTube applications created by independent developers. In most cases, it skips some of the restrictions imposed by YouTube itself. One of the most popular and complete is YouTube Vanced, created by the Team Vanced developer group.

In addition to including interesting features such as the ability to choose different custom themes, modify the default video playback speed, or even control the level of brightness and volume through gestures. It also allows you to play videos with the app in the background.

PIP mode on YouTube to watch videos on a small screen (or not so small)

Thanks to this mode we can be surfing the Internet and watching a video while. The great advantage of this is that in addition to keeping the video between tabs, this square can be resized. Do you want a smaller square to simply listen to the audio? You can. Do you want to increase it to have a bigger video and do anything else? You can too.

The best thing about this trick is that it is incredibly simple, and you can do it without installing anything at all. These are the steps to follow:

• Go to a YouTube video, the one we have left at the top.
• Inside the video, right-click twice.
• When you do, there will be a secondary menu other than the traditional YouTube dark.
• Click or click on “Image in image”.

Once you have done so, a box will appear at the bottom that will be played. Remember that this trick is valid only for Chrome. We have been unable to run it in other browsers.

This box can be placed anywhere on the screen with no problem. Keep in mind that once you set the Image to Image mode, the video will stop playing on the YouTube website and will only play in the square. When you remove that square the video will play as usual.