YouTube previously blocked the quirky hack that lets you stream its content using iOS 14's picture-in-picture capabilities for free. For unknown reasons, the company has now reversed course, and you can access the native iOS feature without needing a YouTube Premium subscription. Here’s how to do it.
All you have to do is pull up YouTube’s main site in Safari. rather than using the YouTube app. Tap your way through to play a video, and then embiggen it to full screen mode using the little square icon in the lower-right corner.
Once you’ve done that, look for the picture-in-picture icon, which looks like one big window pointing to a smaller window. You can’t miss it. (It’s to the right of the giant “X.”)
Your video will shrink to picture-in-picture size, and you can now swipe out of the YouTube viewer and do whatever else you want to do on your iPhone (or iPad). You can move the video around on your screen as needed, though you’ll only be able to stick it to the four corners of your device (alas).
If Safari isn’t your browser of choice, this trick works in Chrome and Firefox, too, via exactly the same methods, and it works with any video on YouTube, including all of the service’s music videos. That sets it apart from the native picture-in-picture setup Android enjoy in their YouTube app, which prohibits picture-in-picture for musical content unless you’ve subscribed to YouTube Premium.
There is a way to use picture-in-picture mode for free within the iOS 14 YouTube app, but you need to employ a third-party workaround that drops a shortcut in your Share Sheet to a hacked-together picture-in-picture mode to do it. I haven’t tried it myself, but it’s worth taking some time to explore if you want picture-in-picture mode but don’t want to open up a browser window to get it.
As for why YouTube changed its mind and is allowing the feature to work again, who can say? But I’m glad the workaround is back. It’s uncool to ask users pay a premium for a standard iOS feature. Worse, YouTube was actively blocking one of Apple’s own apps from being able to access a native function of the operating system. I’m honestly surprised Apple didn’t make more of a stink about it, but perhaps those conversations happened behind closed doors. (The company is a bit busy with another public war at the moment).
Just in case YouTube pulls off the rare double-reversal and kills the Safari picture-in-picture hack one more time, we’ve also covered a few extra workarounds you can use to restore this functionality. We will not be kept from our precious picture-in-picture mode!
This post was originally published in August 2020 and updated in October 2020 to reflect the fact that, after a brief period, the feature it explores is once again functional.
There’s really no reason to have Adobe Flash sitting around anymore. Nobody uses it, modern web browsers will rid themselves of it by the start of nex
Buying a new phone is usually a hands-on task, but you probably won’t be hitting up the nearest Apple store to see the new iPhone 12 lineup in person
Kerboom. That’s the sound of your Telegram account automatically deleting itself. Honestly, I wish this feature was baked into more services. Wouldn’t
Clubhouse must be onto something, because every other social media platform is launching its own version of their live, audio-only voice chats. Twitte
If your iPhone or iPad is frozen or not recognizing touchscreen inputs, a forced restart may be necessary to get it working again. The force restart m
Internet users increasingly want a more anonymous browsing experience, which has a major impact on advertising, eCommerce, and the online economy as a
Unlike some other messaging services, WhatsApp only lets you register one phone number per account. That means when you log into your WhatsApp account
One of the most exciting features that Apple announced at WWDC 2021 was Universal Control. This feature lets you seamlessly switch the cursor and keyb
We are a comprehensive and trusted information platform dedicated to delivering high-quality content across a wide range of topics, including society, technology, business, health, culture, and entertainment.
From breaking news to in-depth reports, we adhere to the principles of accuracy and diverse perspectives, helping readers find clarity and reliability in today’s fast-paced information landscape.
Our goal is to be a dependable source of knowledge for every reader—making information not only accessible but truly trustworthy. Looking ahead, we will continue to enhance our content and services, connecting the world and delivering value.
