It’s frustrating when you’re watching a video on YouTube, and it stops playing the moment you minimize it to use another app.
There are many unofficial methods to keep YouTube playing in the background, but both Apple and YouTube tend to patch them as soon as they’re discovered.
The primary way to play YouTube videos in the background is to subscribe to YouTube Premium. However, if you don’t want to subscribe, there is one unofficial “hack” that still works that we discuss in this article.
YouTube Premium, formerly called YouTube Red, allows you to play videos in the background and gives you access to YouTube Music and YouTube Original videos.
It offers a trial version for one month. The monthly package for a single account costs $11.99/month ($6.99 for students), and the “Family Plan” costs $17.99/month.
Using YouTube Premium is the only official way to keep playing YouTube videos in the background on the iPhone.
Using YouTube in the Background with Safari
Using the Safari browser on iPhone, you can keep playing YouTube in the background. This is an unofficial trick, which means there’s a possibility Google or Apple might patch it. Here’s how you can do it:
- Tap Safari.
- Go to YouTube.com. In the address bar, tap the aA icon.
- Tap Request Desktop Website.
- You’ll now be able to see the desktop version of YouTube on your iPhone. Open the video you want to start watching.
- When the video starts playing, minimize the Safari app.
- After you minimize, the audio will stop playing. Open the Control Center by swiping down from the top-right corner on iPhone X or later (swipe up from the bottom of the screen on iPhone 8 or earlier).
- In the music control box, you’ll be able to see the title of your video. Press the play button to unpause the audio. It’ll keep playing in the background allowing you to continue using your iPhone freely!