In Summary
- Picture-in-picture mode is a premium feature on YouTube, except on desktop.
- But you can play YouTube videos in PiP mode without a premium feature, even on mobile, i.e Android and iOS.
- We also use native features of browsers and video player apps to get the functionality without using a ported version of the YouTube app.
The picture-in-picture feature is present on both Android and iOS, but it’s only available to YouTube Premium subscribers. Nevertheless, you can use a few neat little tricks to watch YouTube in PiP mode on any desktop or mobile device. Additionally, these methods are completely legal, so you don’t have to worry about them. Here’s how you can watch YouTube in PiP mode on Android, iOS, and desktop browsers without YouTube Premium.
Table of Contents
Watch YouTube in PiP Mode Without Premium on Android
YouTube’s PiP mode is accessible on Android using the popular VLC Player app. Moreover, VLC Player now allows you to play videos from the internet. You will be able to stream videos from VLC Player by simply pasting the URL of the video. However, you can streamline the process to make it even simpler. Find out how.
1. To start with, install the VLC player app from the Google Play Store if you are not using it already.
2. Open YouTube and play any video that you would like to watch in the PiP Mode.
3. Next, tap on the Share button below the video and select the Play with VLC option in the Share sheet.
4. VLC Player will start playing that YouTube video. Simply tap on the three-dot menu at the bottom right corner of the player.
5. Select the Pop-Up player option from the menu.
You’re done; the video will play in PiP mode. In addition, YouTube will now allow you to use your phone while a video is playing in PiP mode.
Watch YouTube in PiP Mode Without Premium on iOS
Even though Google makes PiP mode available only to premium users, Apple’s Safari browser offers it for free. So instead of using the YouTube app, you can use the YouTube Web app in the Safari browser to access the YouTube PiP on iOS. Here’s how.
1. Go to YouTube on the Safari browser and sign in to the service.
2. Next, open the video that you want to play on PiP Mode.
3. Enable the Full-screen mode option. The video will not play in PiP Mode until full-screen mode is enabled.
4. To minimize Safari, slide up or tap the home button. In PiP Mode, the YouTube video you’re watching on the Safari browser will continue to play.
Watch YouTube in PiP Mode Without Premium on the Desktop
The PiP mode capability is now supported by most browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and other Chromium browsers like Edge and Brave, among others. As a result, you can watch YouTube in PiP mode using the native browser feature. Here’s how to do it.
1. In your browser, open the YouTube video you want to play in PiP mode.
2. To access the context menu, right-click on the video. It should bring up the YouTube context menu, which lacks the PiP option.
3. Once again, hover over the video and right-click for a second time. You should see that the Picture-in-Picture option appears in your browser’s context menu. Click on it.
This will open the video in PiP mode. You can minimize the browser and use other applications while your video is playing in PiP Mode.
YouTube Videos in Picture-in-Picture Mode
Although the PiP mode option is not available for free YouTube users, you can now use these options to get the functionality without breaking any rules. We only use the features of the VLC player and browsers. For a premium experience where you just return to the home screen and play a video automatically, please consider upgrading to YouTube Premium.
FAQs on Watching YouTube in PiP Mode
How do I use PiP without YouTube Premium?
We have listed down multiple ways to use PiP without YouTube Premium - be it on iOS or Android or desktop (Mac/Windows). This includes methods like
- Using VLC player app on Android
- Mobile Safari browser on iPhones
- Selected browsers that support YouTube PiP mode on desktop.
How do I use PiP on iPad YouTube?
The procedure to watch YouTube in PiP mode on YouTube is pretty much the same as iPhone. That means you can open youtube.com on the Safari browser app, enable the full-screen mode, and swipe up or press the home button to minimize Safari. The YouTube video should now play in PiP mode on the iPad.
How do I get YouTube Premium without paying?
There is a legal way to get YouTube Premium without spending a penny! For that, you need to register for the Google Opinion Rewards program. We have listed down multiple ways to make use of Google Play credits and one of the ways is to use the credits to subscribe to YouTube Premium!