Google introduced a new PIP (picture-in-picture) mode with Android 8.0 Oreo, allowing users to play YouTube videos in a small pop-up window when the app is closed. Since then PiP mode has been available for the YouTube Android app, but it is limited to YouTube premium subscribers only in the US as well as globally. Since not all smartphone users are getting this feature, here we will tell how you can enable YouTube PiP mode on any Android phone.
Enable YouTube PiP mode on any phone
The first way to test and use this feature is to buy a YouTube Premium plan. However, if you don’t want to pay a premium, but still want to use this useful premium feature of YouTube, here are some ways for it too!
Youtube Premium
If you are using YouTube Premium it will work automatically on your app and if not, you can enable it in your app’s settings. Follow these steps:
- Open the YouTube app in your phone.
- Tap on your profile picture icon on the top right and then select Settings from the menu.
- Now, tap general and then on the next page, look at Picture-in-Picture.
- Scroll down until you see it and then enable the toggle next to it.
That much. Now, when you close the app your videos will run in a small pop-up.
Using Google Chrome
After closing the app you can also use the Google Chrome browser to play your YouTube videos in a mini player. Here’s how to enable and use YouTube PiP mode on google chrome browser on android:
- Open the Google Chrome app in your phone.
- Now, go to the YouTube website and it will open the mobile website and for this feature to work, you will need a desktop site.
- Tap on the three points in the upper right corner, and from the menu, choose desktop site.
- Play any video when the desktop site opens.
- Now play the video in full screen and when it is open, minimize the Chrome app or go to the home screen.
Simply, the video will keep running in a small pop-up on your home screen.
Using the New Pipe app
There is also an app called NewPipe that enables users to watch YouTube videos in the pop-up window just like pip mode. The app is not available on the Google Play Store so you have to download apk in your smartphone. Let’s see how you can install and use the NewPipe app on your smartphone and make pip mode work.
- Download the NewPipe APK file from here.
- Install the app like any other APK and open the app.
- After opening the app you will see two tabs- Trending and Subscription. There are search bars and menu buttons at the top of these tabs.
- Use one of two ways to watch the video. The video page will show you different options than the YouTube app, including- backgrounds and popups.
- The background button will play audio from the video and it will continue to run even if the app is shortened.
- While the popup button will start the video in a small pop-up window. Tap on it and then the app will ask you to allow “display on other apps”.
- When you enable it, the app will start playing a small pop-up of the video.
That much. Then you can shorten the app or go to the home screen and the pop-up video will keep playing.
Using the YouTube Vanced app
The YouTube Vanced app is another way to use this feature on any Android phone. This is another YouTube modified version app that offers not only PiP mode but also adblocking without any adblocker and all-to-one installing.
The app directly supports PiP mode, so all you have to do is download the YouTube Vanced APK from here, install it. You’ll also need to install an additional MicroG app to log in from your Google Account to Vanced.
After that, open it and play any video, and then shorten the app, and your video will keep running.
These were ways to enable and use the YouTube PiP mode on any Android phone. Let us know in the comments if you can use it on your phone. Stay tuned for more tips and tricks!