YouTube finally drops the paywall: Free PiP for everyone, but there's a catch
Mr. YouTube, tear down this paywall!
Your videos will no longer pause when you leave the YouTube app just to check something else. | Image by PhoneArena
One of the most intriguing features of YouTube––PiP (picture-in-picture)––is now rolling out globally to non-Premium users on both iOS and Android. This was revealed by the company in a blogpost yesterday and marks a significant shift away from gatekeeping this feature.
The functionality has begun rolling out and will arrive to all users globally "in the coming months". Make sure your YouTube app is updated to the latest version on your Android device or iPhone and you will eventually score it.
Keep in mind that if you live outside the US and aren't subscribed to YouTube Premium, you still won't be able to watch music content in PiP mode. This also applies to Premium Lite subscribers.
Multitasking galore!
Picture in picture, as the name suggests, shrinks the video to a small resizable window that continues to play the video even if you leave the YouTube app and open another one. This is one of the most useful features of the platform, as it essentially allows for effortless multitasking.
PiP but not for music videos
Keep in mind that if you live outside the US and aren't subscribed to YouTube Premium, you still won't be able to watch music content in PiP mode. This also applies to Premium Lite subscribers.
Long-form videos are ones that exceed ten minutes in length, so you might not be able to enable PiP for shorter clips.
Do you multitask when watching YouTube videos on your phone?
Yes, all the time
0%
No, videos deserve my full attention
0%
Occasionally
0%
How the different YouTube subscription tiers stack up
Up until now, picture-in-picture was only available to free and Premium users in the US, as well as Premium users globally. So, with the updated guidelines, here's what you get with the native YouTube app depending on your region and subscription status:
| Subscription | Long-form video PiP | Music content PiP |
|---|---|---|
| YouTube Premium | Yes | Yes |
| YouTube Premium Lite | Yes | No |
| Free users | Yes | No |
A lovely change
I've always been irked that you don't get this basic feature outside the US; I'm just not a fan of regional restrictions.
As a non-paying YouTube consumer living outside the US, having picture-in-picture is a great addition to the mobile app. I wouldn't necessarily minimize a video I want to watch in order to do something else, but the content not stopping when quickly checking something else in another app is a useful quality-of-life improvement.
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