How to Play Youtube in the Background of an iPhone?

Music is food for the soul! 

That’s why most of us listen to music while doing chores, driving, walking, working out, etc.

Although there are many software and apps for listening to music, many people use YouTube as their primary music-streaming platform. However, unlike other music apps, if you close the app or lock your iPhone while listening to music on YouTube, it will stop playing. The only official solution for this is to sign up for YouTube Premium, the company’s paid subscription program, which allows YouTube videos to play in the background, while you use other apps on your iPhone. 

However, you can also use an alternative method involving your iPhone’s Safari app if you don’t want to go for YouTube Premium. This method, however, is tricky, and it may be discontinued in a future release.

Following, we will discuss both these methods, so you can enjoy music on YouTube in the background while doing other tasks on your iPhone.

How to use YouTube Premium to Play YouTube in the Background on an iPhone

This method has 2 parts:

– Signing up for YouTube Premium

– Playing music in the background

Signing up for YouTube Premium

The first part is to sign up for YouTube Premium. 

By becoming a member, you will be able to:

• Remove all advertisements from YouTube videos
• Download videos to view offline
• Have access to both YouTube Videos and YouTube Music, the site’s music streaming service.

Moreover, you’ll also be able to watch and listen to any YouTube video in the background, even if you’re using other apps on your iPhone.

So how to get YouTube Premium? 

Step 1

Go to YouTube Premium’s homepage and click on “Try it Free.” This will redirect you to another page where you can enter your payment details.

Step 2 

Fill in your payment details as well as your zip code and click on “Buy.”

If this is your first time signing up for YouTube Premium, you will not be charged the $11.99 price until after a month has passed. However, YouTube may charge you a $1 fee to ensure that the payment information you’ve provided is correct. This money should be repaid within a few days.

You will be granted immediate access to all of YouTube Premium’s new features.

Now comes the main part:

Playing Videos in the Background

Here’s how you play videos in the background now that you have YouTube Premium:

Step 1

On your iPhone, open the YouTube app and go to the video you wish to listen to in the background.

Step 2 

Once the video starts playing, feel free to lock your iPhone or close the app or open another app on your phone. The music will continue playing in the background!

Step 3

To pause or play the audio, go to the “Control Center” by swiping down from the top and hold your finger down on the music tab for a few seconds.

You can listen to YouTube videos without having to launch the app as long as you have a YouTube Premium subscription.

In case you don’t want to get a YouTube Premium account, you can also play YouTube videos in the background of your iPhone via the Safari app.

How to Use the Safari App on Your iPhone to Play YouTube in the Background

Since the release of YouTube Premium, Google has worked hard to make it the only method to watch YouTube in the background. However, every few months, a new method emerges to allow users to get around it, but it is rapidly updated.

One such method is using the Safari app to open YouTube and then requesting a desktop view to trick your phone into thinking it’s just a regular video that can be played in the background.

Here’s how to go about it:

Step 1

Go to https://www.youtube.com/ in Safari and start playing the video you want to listen to in the background.

Step 2

Now, click on the “aA” icon at the top-left of the screen and click on “Request Desktop Site.”

Step 3 

The page will refresh, and the new video player will appear, identical to the YouTube website on a computer. To play the video, tap it once more. It will begin to play in full-screen mode.

Step 4 

Now close the browser. The sound will stop playing, which is fine.

Step 5 

Swipe down to access the “Control Center” on your iPhone and press the play button in the area that reveals what music is currently playing.

The music will resume playing.

You can now lock your phone, use other apps, and even surf other Safari pages with YouTube playing in the background.

The downside of the method is that you will have to repeat the steps for each video separately if you’re playing a playlist.

Summing Up

As mentioned above, you can utilize any of the two methods to play Youtube music in the background. Either subscribe to Youtube Premium or use Safari and enable a desktop version of the Youtube website. No matter which method you use, you’ll easily learn how to play Youtube in the background on an iPhone.

If you’re in search of additional smartphone hacks, tips, tricks, and more, give our blog a visit!