Firefox and Opera are two browsers that definitely work with this method, and we recommend testing out any other iPhone browsers you prefer. While shutting off the screen and continuing to listen to YouTube is a no-no in Safari and Chrome, it’s possible to use Apple’s Control Center with certain other browsers to bypass YouTube’s restrictions. How to play YouTube videos in the background (iPhone browsers)īut what if you want to play YouTube videos in the background on your iPhone without paying for Premium? That's where web browsers come in.

While the added cost isn't ideal, this is easily the most convenient way to play YouTube in the background on your iPhone or Android phone. YouTube’s app is available for both Android and iPhone. YouTube Premium will cost you $12 a month or $23 a month for a family subscription for up to six members - but you can get a one-month free trial. What is the catch? As you might expect, it’s money.

YouTube Premium also comes with ad-free access to YouTube Music and it gives you the option to shut off the screen in that app, too. There are no steps to turning this on as it's on by default, so as long as you have YouTube Premium, it should work just fine. But crucially for our purposes, it also allows you to continue watching YouTube in the background after shutting off your phone’s screen or navigating to a different app. YouTube Premium is a subscription service that gets rid of ads on desktop and mobile, opens access to exclusive videos, and allows for the downloading of videos.

How to play videos in the background with YouTube Premium

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