How to play YouTube videos in background?
Wanting to watch a makeup tutorial or a famous music video, YouTube is the answer for all. The Google-owned video platform is arguably the most popular and the widely-used one, given that we use it all the time. However, one thing that tends to bother many of us is YouTube’s inability to natively play videos when we aren’t using the app. The constant need to stay on YouTube while a video plays, proves to be a pain when all we want is to listen to the audio part.
While YouTube still doesn’t have the feature to play videos in the background, there are a couple of hacks we can use to do the same. Hence, read on to know how you use YouTube without sticking to the app.
How to play YouTube videos in the background? (Method 1)
This one is a simple trick, which was brought to the surface by a Reddit user. Here are the simple steps you need to follow to use it:
- Head to Google Play Store on your Android smartphone
- Download the VLC for Android app
- Once downloaded, go to the YouTube app
- Open the video you want to play in the background
- Select the three-dotted menu on the YouTube video
- Select the Share option and then select Play in VLC option
- Once the video gets loaded in VLC, click on the three-dotted menu in the VLC app
- Tap on the Play as Audio option and the work gets done
This way, you can play YouTube videos in the background without opening the app throughout. You can also click on the video option in the VLC app to get back the video app again. However, pressing the back option will stop the video and you will have to add it to the app again. Hence, avoid doing that. Two things to note are that the VLC trick doesn’t work for music playlists on YouTube (you have to make one on the VLC app) and that this trick doesn’t work for iOS users.
How to play YouTube videos in the background? (Method 2)
This trick can help you play YouTube videos in the background with the use of the Chrome browser or others such as Mozilla Firefox, Opera, or more. Here’s what you need to do:
- Open YouTube on Chrome or any other browser on your Android or iOS smartphone
- Select the three-dotted menu in the top right corner
- Select the Desktop Site option, following which YouTube will reload to run its PC version
- All you have to do is go for any YouTube, play it, and go to Home
- The video will stop playing and to play it in the background you just need to pull down the notification shade (in Android) or the Control Centre (in iOS) and resume playing the video
- Now, the video will easily play in the background
One thing worth noting is that if you head back to Google Chrome, the video will be paused and you will have to replay it from the notification shade.
How to play YouTube videos in the background? (Method 3)
Another way to play YouTube videos in the background is by either subscribing to YouTube Premium or YouTube Music. This way, you can play music videos on YouTube without the need to staying on the app. However, the method isn’t a free one and you would require to pay for it. Hence, if you don’t have a problem spending, this is the easiest way. As a reminder, both YouTube Premium and YouTube Music offer a free subscription for 30 days, so trying it can be an option.
We hope the aforementioned steps allow you to play YouTubes videos without the need to keep the app open.
