How to play YouTube in background on iPhone 15

Are you wondering how to play YouTube in background on iPhone 15? We’ve got you covered with everything you need to know.

There can be moments when you want to listen to a song or a podcast while doing another work but you have to keep the YT app open all the time. It can be annoying especially when you have to switch over between different apps.

While this can be easily achieved on a desktop or laptop, doing the same on an iPhone or Android can be a tad bit difficult. We have some handy ways to sort that for you.

2 ways to play YouTube in background on iPhone

There are both free and paid ways of playing YouTube in the background on iPhone, and here’s a rundown of them:

Enable desktop mode on your browser

You’ve to enable the desktop mode on your browser to play YouTube in the background. The mobile version doesn’t support background playback as you’ll need YouTube’s picture-in-picture feature.

This goes for every browser, no matter which one you’re using. Be it Safari, Chrome, or even Brave browser, enabling the desktop mode will do the trick.

Safari

To enable desktop mode on Safari, simply:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Scroll down to find Safari Settings.
3. Open it and scroll down further to find “Request Desktop Website”.

1. Open it and enable “All Websites”.
2. Now open up a new tab, type YouTube.com in it, and press go.
3. Play any video you want and tap on the picture-in-picture button from the top left of the video.
4. Now you can start playing anything in the background.

Also Read: 15 things iPhones can do but Android can’t

Chrome

1. Open up a new tab in your browser.
2. Type YouTube.com in it and press go. This will open up the mobile version.
3. Tap on the three dots in the bottom right corner of the screen.
4. Scroll down and tap on “Request Desktop Site.”
5. Start playing any media and tap on the picture-in-picture button from the top left.
6. Your video will now start playing anything in the background.

By this process, you can play all videos and even songs on YouTube Music for free. However, YouTube’s picture-in-picture feature is not suitable all the time.

Buy YouTube Premium

The other method is by purchasing a YouTube Premium subscription. Although this is a paid method of enjoying media in the background, it comes with a lot of additional benefits.

Which is the best way to play YouTube videos in the background?

To be honest, going the YouTube Premium way is the best solution to play videos in the background. Yes, you do have to pay a price monthly or annually, but you also get so many bonuses.

Apart from background play, you also get:

• Ad-free content
• Uninterrupted access to music via YouTube Music Premium, which has the largest collection of music after Apple Music and Spotify.
• Download videos to watch offline, and so much more.