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Playing YouTube in the background on your Android smartphone can be useful in many situations. The app is great because you don’t have to pause a video when you switch to another app.
Play YouTube in the Background with YouTube Premium
For Android, YouTube itself offers a paid option that lets you play videos in the background. This feature also provides you with additional benefits.
- Even though YouTube is free, you can subscribe to YouTube Premium for 12.99 euros per month. This gives you access to many benefits: Not only are ads removed, but you can also download videos and use the music streaming service YouTube Music.
- Another benefit of YouTube Premium is that you can let the video platform run in the background. This gives you the option to watch additional videos simultaneously and use another app at the same time. This isn’t normally possible—if you close the app, YouTube stops playing the video.
- With YouTube Premium, you start a video as usual and can then exit the app. A small window opens immediately, where the video continues to play. You can move this window around your screen however you like.
- You also have the option to play only the audio from a video via the selected YouTube channel. It will then be displayed as a window in the status bar, just like when playing music. This is especially useful for music videos or similar content.
Run YouTube in the background via your browser
If you don’t want to spend money or download a program, you can also run YouTube in the background via your browser. This alternative also lets you enjoy watching various videos or listening to music.
- If you haven’t installed YouTube on your computer or tablet yet, download a browser like Firefox or Chrome . After installation, you can save YouTube as a bookmark in your bookmarks list.
- Open your browser and go to the website www.youtube.com. then simply click the star icon in the URL bar to add the page to your bookmarks.
- Tap the three dots in the upper-right corner of your browser and check the “Desktop site” option (or “Desktop website” in Chrome).
- Now, when you start a video and switch from the browser to another app or to the home screen, the video will continue playing in the background. However, you’ll only be able to hear the audio.
Use third-party apps to run YouTube in the background
YouTube Vanced is a program not provided by the YouTube video platform. It is, however, virtually identical to the video-sharing service and allows you to use YouTube for free in the background on your smartphone.
- You cannot download YouTube Vanced from the Google Play Store. Instead, it is available for download as an APK.
- YouTube Vanced is structured just like the original YouTube app but offers most of the features of YouTube Premium without charging you. This includes, among other things, the ability to download videos.
- With YouTube Vanced, you also have two options for playing videos in the background. When you exit the app, either a small, movable window appears where the video continues to play, or only the audio continues to play.
- An alternative is NewPipe. NewPipe lets you enjoy YouTube on your smartphone without annoying ads or questionable permissions. You can also download videos using this service.
- It’s important to always ensure that third-party apps come from reputable sources and providers. Apps that do not use the YouTube API but instead analyze the website to extract data do not, therefore, conflict with the terms of service of the Google search engine and YouTube.
