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How to Keep Listening to YouTube in the Background or With iPhone Locked

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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On iPhone, listening to YouTube audio in the background usually requires paying for a YouTube Premium subscription, but there is a simple workaround that allows you to keep listening to a video when you are doing other things on your iPhone or when your device is locked. Keep reading to learn how it's done.

General-YouTube-Feature-1.jpg

As YouTube has grown in popularity over the years, Google has opted to park several features of the video hosting service behind a paywall, such as ad-free viewing, SharePlay on iOS, and the ability to listen to YouTube audio on your iPhone when the app is closed.

Unfortunately, YouTube Premium costs $13.99 a month to access these features. But if all you want to do is listen to YouTube-hosted audio like podcasts, music, or lectures when you are in other apps or when your iPhone is locked and in your pocket, there is a way to achieve this without paying for the subscription.


The following steps show you how it's done.
  1. Launch Safari on your iPhone and visit youtube.com, then search for the video whose audio you want to listen to.
  2. Next, tap the aA button in Safari's address bar, then select Request Desktop Website from the popup menu.
    youtube-safari.jpg

    Tap the play button or tap the video to begin playback, while ignoring or dismissing any popups encouraging you to open the YouTube mobile app. (You will need to watch or skip a few ads before video playback begins.)
    Now, lock your iPhone with the device's Side button. The audio will pause, but you can just tap the Play button in the Lock Screen playback controls widget to resume listening.
    youtube-locked-iphone.jpg
After following the above steps, the audio from YouTube will continue to play on your locked iPhone for as long as the video lasts, leaving you free to pocket your device and listen on headphones.

youtube-dynamic-island.jpg


Alternatively, if you want to use other apps while listening, simply swipe up from the bottom of the screen to exit out of Safari, and then use the media controls in your iPhone's Dynamic Island or Control Center to resume playback when it automatically stops.

Article Link: How to Keep Listening to YouTube in the Background or With iPhone Locked
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/listen-youtube-background-iphone-free/
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klasma

klasma

macrumors 603
Jun 8, 2017
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While not everyone can or wants to afford YouTube Premium, I think it’s worth it for ad-free and background play/picture-in-picture and YouTube Music. I just wish that Premium users weren’t still subject to YouTube’s engagement-maximization algorithms, since YouTube shouldn’t care as long as you pay.
 
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HeroOfTime32

macrumors member
Apr 7, 2012
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Florida
There is a MUCH BETTER and easier way to do this (for me on my 13 pro at least). Just start watching any video on Youtube. Swipe up to the home screen. Hopefully the video supports PIP and you can then see the video playing on your home screen. Lock your phone next. Then swipe down to reveal the control center. In the music section of the control center it will just say 'now playing' but not indicate anything in particular. Just click the play button...and VOILA! It's playing with your phone locked. Easy peasy. The Macrumors instructions above are somewhat cumbersome. Cheers :)

Edit: once in a blue moon the PIP doesn't work for me, and then this method doesn't work. I do not have YT Premium for the record.
 
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constructor

macrumors regular
May 15, 2011
204
464
Even simpler:

1. While the video is playing, swipe in Control Center

2. In the Control Center media playing widget the currently playing YT video should be shown as active.

3. Pause playback in the widget.

4. Lock the display.

5. When you wake up the display again but stay on the lock screen the lock screen does not show media playback, but again swipe in Control Center and un-pause the video again there.

6. Only the audio of the video will now continue to play even when you lock the display again!

This works both on the iPhone and on the iPad and in Safari as well as in other browsers (checked in the excellent iCab mobile which has a very effective ad filter).
 
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ghostface147

ghostface147

macrumors 601
May 28, 2008
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Another person vouching for vinegar. However the only downside is that it doesn’t remember where you were. If I’m watching something and then do something else and come back to the video (especially if safari reloads the page for whatever reason), it won’t remember where I was in the video. Start over! Also scrubbing tends to crash the page.
 
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okkibs

macrumors 6502a
Sep 17, 2022
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861
Huh? Since when is this supposedly needed? I can play any media from Youtube, Twitch and so on in the background with PiP mode.
 
Sorinut

Sorinut

macrumors 68000
Feb 26, 2015
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I don't really watch YouTube, nor do I use it on my phone, but you can use the iOS Brave browser to do background listening too, without video. It's built in.
 
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constructor

macrumors regular
May 15, 2011
204
464
okkibs said:
Huh? Since when is this supposedly needed? I can play any media from Youtube, Twitch and so on in the background with PiP mode.
Click to expand...
It's about playing only the audio while the display is off. Also see my post above how to do this much easier.
 
bigjnyc

bigjnyc

macrumors 604
Apr 10, 2008
7,856
6,772
I can easily do this with the app....

1. Play your video in the app
2. swipe up to go in to PIP
3. swipe down to access Notification Center video pauses. just press play on the NC media widget
4. Lock your phone and audio continues to play
 
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