It is the most annoying thing in the world. You’re halfway through a killer podcast or a lo-fi study mix, you slide your phone into your pocket, and—silence. The video cuts. The music stops. You’re left staring at a black piece of glass, wondering why on earth a company as big as Google makes it so difficult to do something so fundamentally simple.
We’ve all been there.
Honestly, the battle to keep playing YouTube with screen off has been raging for years. It’s a deliberate design choice, not a bug. Google wants you to see the ads. They want you to buy a subscription. But sometimes, you just want to listen to a video while you’re walking the dog or doing the dishes without draining your battery by keeping that 6-inch OLED panel glowing like a sun.
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The good news? You can actually do it. It’s just that the "how" depends entirely on how much you’re willing to tinker with your settings or if you’re okay with paying for convenience.
Why Does Google Kill the Audio Anyway?
Money.
Seriously, that's the bottom line. YouTube is a video platform first, but it’s arguably the world’s largest music streaming service too. If they let everyone listen with the screen off for free, they’d lose a massive chunk of their value proposition for YouTube Premium. Plus, advertisers pay for "eyeballs." If your screen is off, your eyeballs aren't on the screen. It’s a simple, albeit frustrating, business calculation.
Back in the day, you could just minimize the app and call it a night. Then came the updates. Then came the restrictions. Now, if you aren't using one of a few specific workarounds, the app detects the screen-off signal and kills the process immediately. It’s a cat-and-mouse game between developers and users.
The Premium Path: The "Official" Way
If you have $13.99 a month to spare, YouTube Premium is the path of least resistance. It’s the only way Google officially supports playing YouTube with screen off across all devices.
When you pay for Premium, the app unlocks a feature called "Background Play." It’s seamless. You can switch to other apps, lock your phone, or throw it in your bag, and the audio just keeps chugging along. You also get YouTube Music, which is basically Google’s answer to Spotify. For power users who spend four hours a day on the platform, the cost-to-sanity ratio might actually be worth it.
But I know why you’re here. You probably don't want to add another subscription to your monthly bill.
The Desktop Site Trick (The Best Free Hack)
This is the classic "old reliable" method. It works because mobile browsers handle media differently than the dedicated YouTube app. It feels a bit like you’re cheating the system, mostly because you are.
For Android Users (Chrome/Firefox)
Open up Chrome and head to YouTube. It’ll probably try to force you into the app. Don’t let it. Tap the three dots in the top right corner and check the box that says "Desktop site." The page will reload and look tiny and cramped. That’s fine.
Find your video and hit play. Now, go to your home screen. The audio will stop. Don't panic. Swipe down your notification shade. You’ll see a media player widget there with a play button. Tap it. Suddenly, the audio starts playing again even though the app isn't open. You can now lock your phone and it’ll keep playing. It’s a bit clunky, but it works consistently without costing a dime.
For iPhone Users (Safari/Brave)
Safari is a bit more finicky. You do the same thing: go to the site, hit the "AA" icon in the address bar, and select "Request Desktop Website." Start your video.
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Once you swipe up to go home, the audio cuts out. Swipe down from the top right to open your Control Center. Hit play on the music widget. This works about 90% of the time, though Apple occasionally pushes updates that break this loop until the browsers find a way around it again.
If Safari is giving you grief, the Brave browser is a legendary alternative. Brave has a built-in feature called "Brave Playlist." You can add YouTube videos to it, and it allows background play by default. It’s probably the most "pro" way to handle playing YouTube with screen off without a subscription on iOS.
Why Picture-in-Picture (PiP) Isn't Always the Answer
A lot of people confuse Picture-in-Picture with background play. They aren't the same.
PiP lets you see a tiny floating window of your video while you use other apps. It’s great for multitasking. However, as soon as you hit that power button to lock your screen, PiP usually dies along with the video. On Android, PiP is available for free in the US for most videos (except music videos). On iOS, it’s a bit more hit-or-miss depending on your region and the specific version of the app you're running.
If your goal is purely to save battery and listen, PiP is a halfway house that doesn't quite solve the problem.
Third-Party Apps and the "Gray Area"
Let's talk about the elephants in the room: NewPipe, Revanced, and SkyTube.
These are third-party clients for Android. They aren't on the Google Play Store for obvious reasons—they violate YouTube's Terms of Service. NewPipe is particularly famous because it’s open-source and doesn't use Google APIs. It allows you to download videos, play them in the background, and it has zero ads.
But there's a catch.
Since these aren't "official," you have to "sideload" them. This means downloading an APK file from a website (like GitHub or F-Droid) and manually installing it. For the average person, this feels a bit sketchy. You also won't be able to sign into your Google account easily, which means your recommendations and subscriptions won't sync up perfectly.
If you value your privacy and hate ads, these apps are a godsend. If you’re worried about security or don't want to deal with manual updates, stick to the browser method.
Using VLC Media Player as an Audio Buffer
This is a deep-cut move that many people overlook. VLC is the Swiss Army knife of media players. It’s free, it’s open-source, and it’s on every platform.
- Copy the URL of the YouTube video you want to hear.
- Open the VLC app on your phone.
- Go to the "More" or "Network" tab and select "New Stream" or "Open MRL."
- Paste the link and hit play.
VLC will treat the YouTube link like a standard video file. Once it starts, you can go to the options (the three dots) and select "Play as Audio." Now, you can lock your screen, toss your phone in your pocket, and listen until your battery dies. VLC doesn't care about YouTube's restrictions because it’s just pulling the raw data stream.
Smartwatches and External Gear
Believe it or not, your Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch can sometimes be the key. If you start a video on your phone and it's one of those rare moments where the audio stays in the "Now Playing" buffer of your watch, you can often trigger the play button from your wrist after the screen goes dark.
It’s inconsistent, sure. But it’s a handy trick when the browser method is being stubborn.
The Browser Extension Workaround (Firefox Mobile)
If you're on Android, Firefox is a powerhouse for this. Unlike Chrome, Firefox mobile supports actual browser extensions.
You can install an extension called "Video Background Play Fix." It does exactly what it says on the tin. It tricks YouTube into thinking the tab is always active and visible. Once you have this installed, you don't even have to mess with the "Desktop Site" toggle most of the time. You just play the video, lock the screen, and go about your day. It’s probably the most stable "set it and forget it" free method available right now.
A Note on Battery and Data
Keep in mind that playing YouTube with screen off still consumes a fair bit of data. Even though you aren't seeing the pixels, your phone is still downloading the video stream.
If you're doing this to save data, it won't help much unless you lower the video quality manually to 144p before you lock the screen. To save battery, though? It’s a game changer. The screen is usually the biggest power drain on any smartphone. Turning it off while listening to an hour-long video can save you 15-20% of your total battery life over that span.
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Actionable Steps to Get Started
Don't overcomplicate this. Start with the easiest method and move down the list if it doesn't work for your specific device.
- Try the Brave Browser first: It’s available on both Android and iOS. It has a "Background Media Playback" toggle in the settings that makes this whole process painless.
- Use Firefox with Extensions (Android): Install "Video Background Play Fix." It’s a permanent solution that requires zero daily effort once it's set up.
- The VLC Method for Long Sessions: If you're listening to a 3-hour long video essay or a DJ set, taking 10 seconds to paste the link into VLC is worth the stability it provides.
- Lower your resolution: If you're on mobile data, manually set the video to 144p. Your ears won't know the difference, but your data cap will thank you.
- Check your "Sleep" settings: Ensure your phone isn't set to "Aggressive Battery Saving," which might kill the browser or VLC as soon as the screen goes dark. You may need to "whitelist" your browser in the battery optimization settings.
Ultimately, Google will likely keep trying to close these loopholes. They’ve been at it for a decade. But as long as browsers have the ability to request desktop versions of sites, there will always be a way to keep the music playing in the dark.