Watch YouTube videos & surf the Internet at the same time: With a trick

If you don’t have a YouTube Premium membership, then you usually can’t Run YouTube videos in the background. However, you can create something similar with a function on Android. We’ll tell you which trick you can use to do this.

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Running YouTube videos in the background: This is how it works It also works with Premium

Running YouTube videos in the background: This is how it works

While watching a YouTube video, do you want to surf the Internet or send a quick message? Then try it with the split screen on your mobile phone. This allows you to run YouTube video in the background while operating another selected application. It goes like this:

Open YouTube.
Open the overview of the apps that are currently running in the background. Depending on which mobile phone you have, there are different ways of doing it: With some mobile phones you have to swipe up, with others you have to press the three lines in the lower left corner of the screen.
Tap the top YouTube app icon.
Select “Split Screen”.

Select “Split Screen”. Credit: Screenshot/Futurezone.de

Now you have the option to add another app to show in the bottom pane. This can be Signal, WhatsApp or any other application that supports split screen. But you can also simply surf the Internet.

The YouTube video then plays at the top of the screen and you do whatever you want at the bottom. It is also possible to first add another application to the split screen and only then YouTube. This way the YouTube video is at the bottom and not at the top.

It also works with Premium

Is the split screen too cumbersome for you and are you willing to spend money? Then you might be interested in the YouTube Premium Membership. Google explains:

“If you’re signed into your YouTube Premium account, background playback is available on YouTube’s mobile apps. Videos always play in the background by default.”

Google

YouTube Premium is free for the first month and then costs 11.99 per month. Not only does it give you the benefit of running YouTube videos in the background. You can also enjoy the videos without ads. However, if you don’t want to spend any money, the little trick with the split screen should be sufficient.

Source: Google, own research