YouTube Premium offers ad-free, background playback. Achieve background playback without a subscription or third-party apps using Chrome, Edge, or Safari web browsers. Access your playlist and recommendations with a Google account. Play YouTube Music in the background by switching to desktop mode.
YouTube Premium subscription aims offer users a seamless watching experience. This includes ad-free,
background
playback and more. However, if background playback is all you want and paying the premium just for that, then you may want to read this guide as we will tell you a simple way to run
YouTube videos
and even YouTube Music in the background without any subscription or third-party apps.
Read on.
What you’ll need
- A web browser that supports Desktop mode
- Working internet connection, obviously
- Google account, only if you want to access your playlist or watch from your recommendations
How watch YouTube videos in the background for free
- Ditch the app and open any web browser (Chrome, Edge or Safari)
- Open YouTube.com and stick to the browser, don’t open the app, even if you see the prompt
- Then, select the video you want to play
- Switch to desktop mode (usually found in the browser’s settings menu)
- That’s it, tap on the play button and the video will keep playing in the background. You can even play and pause it from the notification centre or lock screen.
How watch YouTube Music in the background for free
The process for YouTube Music is also similar. But, there’s a small change.
- Hit the browser icon and head to YouTube Music website
- Select the music you want to play and then switch to the desktop mode
- Minimise the browser and the music will continue to play
You can also see the mini player in the notification panel and on the lock screen.
Things to keep in mind
The entire process only works when both YouTube and YouTube Music are open in desktop mode. Mobile version will simply pause the video or music and it won’t run in the background.
Also, if your phone has the habit of automatically closing the app (especially on
Android
), you can lock the browser to prevent that from happening. For this, open the multi-tasking by swiping up from the bottom and then tap on the three dots at the top right corner of the small browser window and select “Keep open”. Some smartphone brands also add a dedicated “Lock” icon at the bottom of the window, just tap that to lock the window and it will keep running in the background.
English (US) ·