How to Keep YouTube Videos Streaming in the Background on Your iPhone

Alyssa Bereznak
·National Correspondent, Technology
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Many music streaming services have millions of songs in their catalogs, but sometimes YouTube is the only place you can find a particular tune. For iPhone owners, however, rocking out to a YouTube song is incredibly annoying. The video’s sound is automatically cut off every time you exit the app or try to use another app on your phone.

You may have wondered, as your jam cut off when you went to tweet or text: Why can’t I listen to a YouTube video while doing something else on my iPhone?

Actually, you can. Try this awesome little trick that the tech site Wired discovered:

1. Forget about the YouTube app altogether, and open up either Safari or Google’s Chrome browser.

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2. Go to YouTube.com.

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3. Search for your desired video.

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4. Start playing the video.

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5. Press the home button at the bottom of your screen. Then swipe from the bottom up to see your Control Panel. Instead of displaying a Spotify track or an ebook above the Play button, your phone will show the title of the YouTube video. Press Play.

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Now you can go do whatever you want on your phone while also listening to that very rare song you love. Run free, dear reader.

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