I like utilizing YouTube for long-form content material like video essays and vlogs. Nonetheless, typically I wish to multitask whereas I’m diving down a rabbit gap about some bizarre web tradition pattern or loopy fandom idea.
Beforehand I didn’t suppose this was doable with out shopping for a YouTube Premium subscription. Nonetheless, I by chance stumbled throughout a hack whereas testing one thing for an additional article (the grind by no means stops). Thankfully, it’s among the finest unintended discoveries I’ve made, and really simple to do.
The right way to watch a YouTube video through picture-in-picture
Should you’ve not heard of picture-in-picture (PiP) earlier than, this can be a techy time period for shrinking a YouTube video down so you’ll be able to entry different elements of your cellphone display.
Whereas some smartphones like iPhone have this skill with YouTube when you watch through a browser equivalent to Safari, you might wish to keep within the YouTube app resulting from its extra streamlined interface.
Thankfully, YouTube does provide this characteristic. The catch? It’s unique to these within the US.
Should you’re an American reader, all it’s worthwhile to do is allow the PiP mode in your settings. When watching a video, exit the app (maybe by clicking in your House button on Android), after which the video will mechanically shrink.
However what about the remainder of us chumps within the UK and out of doors of the US?
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Can you utilize YouTube picture-in-picture within the UK?
Sure, you need to use YouTube PiP within the UK – all you want is a VPN.
This stands for digital personal community. This software program reroutes you IP handle so you’ll be able to browse the web as when you’re from one other nation. Nonetheless, there are many different causes you would possibly wish to use a VPN.
For this tutorial I used a NordVPN, Tech Advisor’s top-rated supplier. Nonetheless, there are many different choices on the market that we as a workforce have tried and examined.
That is cheaper than subscribing to YouTube Premium, and also will provide you with a great deal of different advantages equivalent to the flexibility to look at Netflix US.
When you’ve chosen your VPN, right here’s what you need to do:
- In case you have YouTube open, shut the app
- Hook up with a US server in your VPN
- Open the YouTube app, click on on the ‘You’ icon within the backside proper
- Click on on the gear icon on the highest proper
- Faucet ‘Basic’ after which toggle on ‘Image-in-picture mode’ if it’s not enabled
- Discover the video you need and click on play
- Exit the app, and the video ought to minimise
- Pinch the video to regulate the scale or transfer it in your display
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
Hannah Cowton / Foundry
Primarily based on my expertise, you need to at all times shut a video (even when you’re mid-watch) to get this technique to work.
If you wish to return into the app when you’ve enabled PiP, click on as soon as on the video after which faucet the maximise icon within the centre of the video. I additionally didn’t have to toggle on the PiP setting within the app – it was enabled by default.
I used a OnePlus 12 operating on Android 14 for this hack, however in accordance with Google, this must also work on iPhone and iPad.
As I discussed earlier, I stumbled throughout this after I was utilizing my cellphone for an additional streaming information, and I went to exit YouTube. I used to be fairly stunned after I noticed the PiP characteristic and did some digging. Naturally, I simply needed to share my findings with TA readers.
This technique is ideal for lengthy movies, equivalent to Jenny Nicholson’s viral Star Wars resort video essay. You may as well learn up on tips on how to minimise a YouTube video on iPhone to play simply the audio whereas your display is locked.
