Can you listen to YouTube with screen off?
Introducing the Topic
YouTube has become one of the most popular platforms for streaming videos online. Many users enjoy listening to YouTube videos in the background, such as music playlists or educational content, while doing other tasks on their phone. A useful feature of YouTube is the ability to turn off the screen while the audio continues playing. This saves battery life and internet data usage compared to streaming video. With mobile data plans often limiting video streaming quality, being able to just listen to YouTube audio can provide a better experience. This article will explore the default YouTube behavior when the screen is turned off, tips and tricks for listening with the screen off, and the best free and premium options.
Default YouTube Behavior
By default, the YouTube app stops playing videos when the screen turns off or the app is minimized. This is because YouTube is designed to stop playing content when it’s unable to show ads on the video. According to a Reddit user, “YouTube wants you to watch the ads. So if you turn the screen off, it assumes you aren’t watching the ads, and pauses the video” [1].
When the YouTube app detects that the screen has turned off or the app has been minimized, it will automatically pause the video after a few seconds. This prevents the audio from continuing to play in the background. So by default, YouTube’s behavior is to stop playing videos when you turn off the screen or switch to another app.
Why YouTube Stops Playing
YouTube’s default behavior is to stop playing videos when the screen turns off or the app is minimized. There are a few technical and business reasons behind this:
Technically, the YouTube app is not optimized to play videos continuously in the background. Playing videos requires a decent amount of processing power and battery usage, so the app is designed to pause playback when not the active foreground app to conserve system resources (Source).
From a business perspective, YouTube wants to encourage users to stay engaged with the app and keep watching more videos. Stopping playback when minimizing the app essentially forces users to keep the YouTube app open if they want to continue listening to music or other content (Source). This results in more ads viewed and potential premium subscriptions.
So in summary, the technical constraints of mobile devices combined with YouTube’s business incentives are the main reasons why videos stop playing by default when you turn off the screen or switch apps.
Workarounds
There are a few workarounds that allow you to listen to YouTube with the screen turned off on your phone. Here are some of the most popular options:
Using a web browser like Chrome or Firefox is one of the easiest workarounds. Simply open the YouTube website in your browser, start playing a video, then turn your screen off or minimize the browser while the audio continues playing. This takes advantage of the web browser’s ability to play audio in the background.
YouTube Premium allows background and offline playback by default across all YouTube platforms. With a paid Premium subscription, you can turn off your screen or switch apps while YouTube continues playing uninterrupted. This is the official way to enable background listening according to YouTube.
Third-party apps like Newpipe, YouTube Vanced, or iYTBP provide background playback by essentially hacking the YouTube interface. These apps aren’t endorsed by YouTube but offer free workarounds on mobile.
Using a voice assistant is another hands-free option. Just say “Hey Google, play on YouTube” to have the audio play through Google Assistant. You can then turn off your screen and let it play in the background.
Premium vs Free Options
YouTube offers both free and paid subscription options. The key differences in the listening experience are:
With a YouTube Premium subscription, you can listen to videos with the screen off across all devices. This allows you to multitask or save battery life while listening. Premium also removes ads and allows offline downloading for listening without an internet connection (source).
With the free YouTube option, listening with screen off is only available on mobile devices and smart TVs. On a computer, the video stops when you turn off the display. The free experience also includes ads and does not allow offline listening.
In summary, Premium provides an uninterrupted listening experience across devices and scenarios, while the free option is limited. The choice depends on your listening habits and whether the extra features are worth the subscription cost.
Best Free Options
The best free options for listening to YouTube with the screen off involve using third-party apps from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Some popular free options include:
NewPipe – An open-source Android app that allows background play and downloading videos. It has a clean interface and no ads (Source).
MusicTube – An Android app with background play enabled out of the box. It also includes playlists and music downloads. The free version has ads (Source).
Musi – A simple iOS app that plays YouTube audio in the background. It has playlists, downloads, and no ads in the free version.
Overall, NewPipe and MusicTube are great free options on Android. For iOS, Musi is recommended for background listening. While not as full-featured as premium options, these free apps get the job done for basic listening needs.
Best Premium Options
The premium option that stands out for listening to YouTube videos with the screen off is YouTube Premium. YouTube Premium provides an uninterrupted listening experience across devices without any ads. Some of the key benefits of YouTube Premium for audio listening include:
- Download videos and songs for offline listening.
- Listen to music and videos in the background.
- Ad-free experience across YouTube.
- Access to YouTube Music Premium with over 100 million official songs.
YouTube Premium costs $11.99/month in the US, but offers a 1-month free trial. For avid YouTube listeners looking for the best premium experience, YouTube Premium is highly recommended.
Tips for Listening
To get the best audio-only listening experience on YouTube, here are some tips:
Use headphones or external speakers for better sound quality. The built-in phone or computer speakers may not render audio as crisply.
Adjust audio settings in the YouTube app for optimum sound. Enable equalizer and surround sound options if available.
Consider downloading the audio as an MP3 using a tool like youtube-dl (www.youtube-dl.org) for listening offline without ads or connectivity issues.
Press play on the video, then turn off the phone screen or switch to another app to save battery life while listening.
Use the YouTube Premium app’s background play and offline download features for uninterrupted audio.
Try third party apps like YouTube Music or YouTube Vanced which offer audio-focused modes.
Enable the “Audio Only” extension in your browser for one-click switching to audio.
Adjust playback speed for slower or faster listening as desired.
Use playlists and autoplay for continuous hands-free listening sessions.
Listening Offline
A great way to listen to YouTube videos with your screen off is to download them for offline playback. This allows you to save videos to your device so you can listen anytime without an internet connection. There are a few options for downloading YouTube videos to watch offline:
With a YouTube Premium subscription, you can download videos directly within the YouTube app for offline playback later (1). Simply open the video you want, tap the download icon, and select “audio” to save just the audio track. The video will be accessible in the “Downloads” section of the app when offline.
There are also third party apps that allow downloading YouTube videos, such as Newpipe for Android. These apps let you save just the audio locally to listen with your screen off. However, third party apps may have limitations or get outdated over time (2).
On desktop, you can use video downloader plugins for your browser or standalone programs to download YouTube videos. These can extract the audio to MP3 so you can transfer it to your phone. This takes more effort but works for free.
The Premium download feature provides the simplest option to get YouTube audio offline on mobile. But free alternatives are available too if you don’t mind a few extra steps.
Summary
To summarize the key options for listening to YouTube with the screen off:
Free Options:
– Use a third party app like Vanced YouTube or NewPipe to enable background play.
– Play YouTube in a mobile browser like Chrome and enable site settings to allow audio to continue in the background.
– Use the YouTube Vanced MicroG patch for non-rooted Android devices.
Premium Options:
– Subscribe to YouTube Premium to enable background and offline playback across devices.
– Use the YouTube Music app which comes with a YouTube Premium subscription.
The best free options are Vanced YouTube or NewPipe as they provide full YouTube background audio and ad blocking. For offline downloads, the YouTube Premium subscription or YouTube Music app are the best options.
With the right apps and settings, you can listen to YouTube audio with the screen turned off on both mobile and desktop devices.