How to Play YouTube Videos in the Background on iPhone in 2020

One of the most annoying features that the iPhone lacks is the ability to play YouTube videos in the background. If you are running the YouTube app for iOS or iPadOS, you can only listen to music if your iPhone is unlocked and YouTube is in foreground. This is not accidental and likely serves the marketing purposes of Apple and YouTube. Fortunately, there is always a way to listen to YouTube music in the background.

Back then, there were many workarounds that allowed us to play YouTube videos in the background on iPhone on iPad. One of them required users to read the content through the third-party Opera browser. Another trick involved playing YouTube videos through Safari web browser and bypassing the app. It doesn’t work like it used to, but there is fine tuning available that still works!

Tip for playing YouTube videos in the background on iPhone

1. Open the YouTube app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Navigate to the video clip you want to play in the background and open it.
3. Press the ‘Share’ icon available in the upper right corner of the video screen.
4. To select ‘Copy link’, this should be the first option in Share.
5. Open Safari on the same device.
6. Dough YouTube video link copied to the address bar of an existing or new tab.
How? ‘Or’ What: Press the new tab icon (lower right corner of the screen) -> Press the ‘+’ icon (bottom center) -> Long press the address bar -> Press on “Paste and go”.

7. Press the ‘aA icon’, available in the upper left corner of the address bar.
8. To select ‘Request a desktop website’.
9. ‘To play’ the video and return to the home screen of the iOS / iPad operating system. Music playback stops.
ten. Open the control center, swipe down from the top right corner of the screen, and tap ‘Play button, available in the Now Playing controls section. YouTube music playback resumes in the background. You can now lock your iPhone screen and start your workout.

Fact: You must return to Safari when video playback ends. That is why we suggest you choose a music mix that is already available or create your own playlist if you want to listen to music without interruption for a longer time.

How to ignore YouTube ads while playing music in the background

YouTube ads don’t go away if you’re playing the videos in the background. If the audio suddenly stops, it means the video has reached an advertisement. When an announcement is played, audio will stop playing, but the video progress bar confirms that the video is still playing.
Tower: From your iPhone lock screen ‘Pause’ and ‘To play’ the video. The music will resume from the moment the ad started playing and the addition will be ignored. Repeat this workaround whenever a new announcement interrupts music playback.

Availability

We have tested the above workaround on multiple iPhone models running both iOS 13 and the public beta of iOS 14. It works on both current and next-gen iOS and their versions. respective iPadOS. Enjoy!

Why is YouTube background playback not supported in iOS?

The current situation is in the best interests of Apple and YouTube, who seem to prefer to give their users trouble to listen to free music on iPhone.
The Cupertino tech giant is aiming to attract as many subscribers as possible to its paid Apple Music service. That is why difficult playing YouTube music in the background will encourage users to opt for subscription service. Although YouTube also earns more money, the user is actively using the app when listening to videos as it can serve ads better and increase conversion rates.
That’s why you shouldn’t expect background music playing to become a standard feature of the YouTube app for iOS anytime soon.

Does the YouTube background music playback trick shown above work on your iPhone? Use the comments section and let us know if you enjoy this tip!

Related: Learn how to use the YouTube chapters feature and quickly find specific content in videos!