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Keep YouTube Playing in the Background on Your iPhone

Yeah I'm good with my YouTube PiP shortcut and 1BlockerX for the ads. Though it's almost like they can tell I'm about to use it because my share sheet behaves very strangely on their site every now and then. Like I tap the share button and it won't appear or does so, but it's delayed or laggy. It's the only site where that happens. I swear they do some shady things just to try to force mobile users into the app. Namely not allowing PiP on mobile web in the first place! They'll never get my money or ad revenue from me. I'd maybe be okay with $3-5 a month to remove ads, but I don't need or want any of their "premium" content.
 
zarmanto said:
Educated guess: Apple has probably provided several standard APIs which enable any app developer to subscribe their app to notifications for select activities which might affect that app, such as closing the app, mode switching to background or locking the screen. It's up to the app developer to decide what their app actually does in response to those notifications.

(Edit: alternatively, given Apple's penchant for aggressively offloading unused apps from memory as soon as possible, it is entirely likely that the default behavior under iOS is to immediately disable all functionality of any given app when it is closed or pushed to the background... in which case, Google would need to actively develop a response to those default behaviors in order to enable the "core features" of which you speak.)
Click to expand...
This article isn't about the app. It's about use in Safari. They are blocking native functionality that utilize open web standards in the mobile browser to force users into the app. They only do it on mobile Safari. You can use PiP in full Safari on macOS without any shortcuts or extensions. That's only because they don't have a first party app on macOS.
 
DEMinSoCAL said:
Except the $14 isn't just to not have ads.

  • YouTube Premium
    Offers:
    • Ad-free viewing of YouTube videos

    • Downloading videos to watch offline

      • Playing videos in the background while using other apps
      • Access to YouTube Music Premium, which includes ad-free music
      • Access to YouTube Originals series
      • Members-only features like afterparties, live chat, smart device integration, and smart downloads
      • Special offers and early access to new features
Click to expand...
That person said they were paying that just so they wouldn't have ads. They weren't saying that's all you get. I will never pay for it because that's all I care about. I have no interest in the rest of their "premium" offerings.
 
@techfreak23

What is there to disagree with? The method I shared works beyond the shadow of a doubt. That is not debatable. The video itself is proof. What countries and who it works for is another story. I also edited it yesterday to clarify that it only works in the US...obviously displaying frustration and irritation about it. I then clarified in a subsequent post that it works for me only when I use the Safari Vinegar extension. So I ask again, why the disagreement? Seems a bit dramatically unnecessary.
why.gif


bondr006 said:
Maybe it's the ad blockers I use. Could be the Vinegar extension I use for YouTube on Safari. Maybe just something YouTube doesn't allow outside the US. View attachment 2468055 When I get a minute, I'll turn off my ad blockers and Vinegar and see if it makes a difference...😊
Click to expand...
bondr006 said:
OK, I disabled Vinegar...and it was indeed the reason I can do YT PIP in Safari. The PIP button doesn't show when Vinegar is disabled....and I get annoying ads again. I bet if you installed the Vinegar extension for Safari, you would also get PIP in YT. Worth a shot. It's only a $1.99 USD one time payment, and it is a priceless App/Extension.😊
Click to expand...
bondr006 said:
You are right. Only available in the US with Vinegar🙄☹️😠
Click to expand...
Screenshot 2025-01-02 062205.png
 
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HQuest said:
Thank you for sharing this to the globe. Now YouTube will patch it because it became public knowledge, and those of us using it for a while will now need to find another way around.
Click to expand...
Yeah, this could happen. The same trick works for showing automatically translated subtitles in variety languages that are not supported when viewing in mobile app.
 
HQuest said:
Thank you for sharing this to the globe. Now YouTube will patch it because it became public knowledge, and those of us using it for a while will now need to find another way around.
Click to expand...
You really think that someone sharing a workaround that has been around as long as this one, in a thread at a tech forum is what tips Google off?😏

Google is one of those tech god's that knows and sees all. They know what you eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Heck, they even know the name of your dog. If only they depended on old work around tips in an obscure thread....the world would be a better place.😉
 
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techfreak23 said:
This article isn't about the app. It's about use in Safari. They are blocking native functionality that utilize open web standards in the mobile browser to force users into the app. They only do it on mobile Safari. You can use PiP in full Safari on macOS without any shortcuts or extensions. That's only because they don't have a first party app on macOS.
Click to expand...
You have a point -- but I suspect that only shifts the focus from one set of APIs to another; Safari surely has a standard suite of APIs for web-app developers, much as iOS has a standard suite of APIs for native-app developers -- and in fact, I would not be surprised if there was some significant overlap between the two sets. I would suggest that the answer as it relates to web-app APIs is probably essentially the same, except that possibly the parenthetical afterthought in my previous response would not apply.
 
It’s one thing for YouTube Premium to charge for additional features. They can and should do that.

But in this case, they are going out of their way to disable the standard built-in PIP feature. They are not adding value, they are taking away something that I already had, and then charging me to get it back.
 
diskrete said:
It’s one thing for YouTube Premium to charge for additional features. They can and should do that.

But in this case, they are going out of their way to disable the standard built-in PIP feature. They are not adding value, they are taking away something that I already had, and then charging me to get it back.
Click to expand...
Are you in the US? If you are, it is very easy to get the PIP back. If you are not, it looks like Brave Browser will also do that for you.
 
bondr006 said:
@techfreak23

What is there to disagree with? The method I shared works beyond the shadow of a doubt. That is not debatable. The video itself is proof. What countries and who it works for is another story. I also edited it yesterday to clarify that it only works in the US...obviously displaying frustration and irritation about it. I then clarified in a subsequent post that it works for me only when I use the Safari Vinegar extension. So I ask again, why the disagreement? Seems a bit dramatically unnecessary.View attachment 2468179




View attachment 2468180
Click to expand...
With the Vinegar extension, which is a PAID extension. Your original comment was misleading. You made it sound like it just works for everyone in the US.
 
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zarmanto said:
You have a point -- but I suspect that only shifts the focus from one set of APIs to another; Safari surely has a standard suite of APIs for web-app developers, much as iOS has a standard suite of APIs for native-app developers -- and in fact, I would not be surprised if there was some significant overlap between the two sets. I would suggest that the answer as it relates to web-app APIs is probably essentially the same, except that possibly the parenthetical afterthought in my previous response would not apply.
Click to expand...
You’re right about their being web specific APIs that apply to Safari and WebKit, but PiP is an open web standard for which Apple updated WebKit and subsequently Safari to support. I believe there is a “notification” that sites get when attempting to use PiP that YouTube uses to prevent it.
 
bondr006 said:
Maybe it's the ad blockers I use. Could be the Vinegar extension I use for YouTube on Safari. Maybe just something YouTube doesn't allow outside the US. View attachment 2468055 When I get a minute, I'll turn off my ad blockers and Vinegar and see if it makes a difference...😊
Click to expand...
bondr006 said:
OK, I disabled Vinegar...and it was indeed the reason I can do YT PIP in Safari. The PIP button doesn't show when Vinegar is disabled....and I get annoying ads again. I bet if you installed the Vinegar extension for Safari, you would also get PIP in YT. Worth a shot. It's only a $1.99 USD one time payment, and it is a priceless App/Extension.😊
Click to expand...
bondr006 said:
You are right. Only available in the US with Vinegar*🙄☹️😠

*Reference to above claim​


I would miss it greatly if they didn't develop it anymore...
Click to expand...

techfreak23 said:
With the Vinegar extension, which is a PAID extension. Your original comment was misleading. You made it sound like it just works for everyone in the US.
Click to expand...
OK fixed. To my credit, I did clarify in subsequent posts.
 
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techfreak23 said:
You’re right about their being web specific APIs that apply to Safari and WebKit, but PiP is an open web standard for which Apple updated WebKit and subsequently Safari to support. I believe there is a “notification” that sites get when attempting to use PiP that YouTube uses to prevent it.
Click to expand...
That makes sense. The context (in case you missed it) was that the original post I responded to was suggesting that Apple had intentionally facilitated YouTube's ability to do what you just described. I was really only attempting to point out that Apple's role was almost certainly entirely passive, and it looks like you've provided the technical details that I didn't know, which support my initial supposition. (Thanks!)
 
I remember back when this all worked without any intervention on Safari and other browsers like Safari. Play video, sleep phone, wake but don't unlock and just press the play button.

Then it no longer worked in Safari and eventually it was removed from other browsers. Why does a website need to know if the phone is asleep? I'm assuming Google pays Apple handsomely to ensure videos can't be played when the device is asleep or changed to another app. Apple could prevent the website from knowing whether it's in the forefront and if the display is on etc but for some reason doesn't.

It's also why I don't use my phone for YouTube at all. On the desktop, there are zero ads and I can have it in the background like I've been able to since 2005. The iOS experience just ruins it for me.
 
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Youtube Premium is that one subscription I can't live without. I have cutback on so many subs recently. But Premium, so I can skip ads, and not have to worry about playback workarounds is worth it. But I think it's cool workarounds do exist. Maybe it won't get patched and who knows I may decide to drop this sub one day.
 
DEMinSoCAL said:
Except the $14 isn't just to not have ads.

  • YouTube Premium
    Offers:
    • Ad-free viewing of YouTube videos

    • Downloading videos to watch offline

      • Playing videos in the background while using other apps
      • Access to YouTube Music Premium, which includes ad-free music
      • Access to YouTube Originals series
      • Members-only features like afterparties, live chat, smart device integration, and smart downloads
      • Special offers and early access to new features
Click to expand...
True! It has many features, 2 of which I benefit from:

Background video & no ads. It’s not worth $14+ a month for those.
 
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