There's a lot of music, and storytelling and news, on YouTube, so it stands to reason that you want to be able to play it in the background on your mobile device while reading, texting, or doing other things. Unfortunately, unless you're subscribed to YouTube Premium ($ 11.99 a month) or YouTube Music ($ 9.99 a month), your ability to listen to a YouTube video in the background is limited, doable, but limited.

On an Android phone

  • While you’re in Chrome, go to the YouTube website. (This has to be done using a mobile browser, so make sure you’re in the website and not the YouTube app.)
  • Find the video you want to play
  • Tap on the three dots in the upper-right corner of the screen, and then select “Desktop site” from the drop-down menu
  • You’ll now be using the desktop version of YouTube. Start the video again.
  • Tap the Home key at the bottom of your screen. As soon as you see your home screen, the music may stop. But wait...
  • Pull down your notifications from the top of the screen. You should see the notification for the current song; just hit play to restart it.


On an iPhone

  • Find your video in Safari. (You’ll probably be using the mobile version of YouTube.)
  • Tap on the “AA” symbol in the top-left corner of the screen
  • In the drop-down menu, tap on “Request Desktop Website”
  • In the desktop version of YouTube, start the video and then sweep up to close the Safari app
  • The video will probably stop playing. Pull down the Control Center from the top right of the screen. You’ll see the video loaded there; press the play button and the video should start playing again.
An article by Munna Suprathik