YouTube Is Blocking Background Playback on Mobile Browsers

If you’ve ever used YouTube to listen to music, podcasts, sermons, interviews, or long discussions while your phone screen is locked, you may have noticed something annoying recently. The moment your screen turns off or you switch tabs, the audio stops. This is a deliberate change from Google.

YouTube has started blocking background playback on mobile browsers according to a report by Android Authority, closing a loophole that many users relied on to keep videos playing without paying for a subscription. Here’s what happened in details. 

YouTube has restricted background playback on third-party mobile browsers. This means that if you open YouTube in a browser like Brave, Samsung Internet, Microsoft Edge, or Vivaldi on your phone, videos will now pause once your screen is locked or you leave the browser tab.

In the past, many mobile browsers allowed YouTube videos to continue playing in the background. People used this feature to listen to content hands-free, especially when they were not interested in watching the video itself. 

Now, YouTube is actively blocking that behaviour. The company says background playback is a YouTube Premium feature, and it should only be available to users who pay for the subscription. As a result, free users accessing YouTube through mobile browsers no longer have access to background play.

If you are using the YouTube app, this change may not feel new. Background playback has been locked behind YouTube Premium there for a long time. What is different now is that the same restriction is being enforced on mobile web browsers.

At its core, this move is about control and subscriptions.

YouTube Premium offers a few paid benefits: background playback, offline downloads, and an ad-free experience. Allowing mobile browsers to bypass one of these benefits weakened the value of the subscription.

Google has described this browser behaviour as a loophole, not a feature. By closing it, YouTube is making sure its rules apply across all platforms, not just inside the official app.

There is also the business angle. Subscriptions are becoming more important to big tech companies as advertising revenue fluctuates. Encouraging more users to pay for YouTube Premium fits neatly into that strategy.

This change hits mobile-first users the hardest.

Many people prefer using YouTube in a browser rather than installing the app. Some want to save storage space. Others want more control over ads, data usage, or permissions. For some users, browsers simply feel cleaner and lighter.

Background playback is especially popular with people who treat YouTube like a radio station or podcast platform. Long interviews, lectures, religious talks, and music mixes do not need constant screen time. Being able to lock your phone and keep listening made YouTube more flexible.

In countries where mobile data is costly and phones often have limited storage, browser use is even more common. For those users, this change feels like a downgrade.

Browser makers have reacted differently. Brave, for example, has tried to resist the block, while other browsers appear to be complying fully. Still, most workarounds tend to be temporary, and YouTube has a long track record of enforcing its platform rules.

At the moment, options are limited. If background playback is essential for you, YouTube Premium is now the official route. The subscription unlocks background play across the app and mobile browsers, alongside ad removal and offline downloads.

Using the YouTube app without Premium means videos will stop when the screen is off. Using YouTube through most mobile browsers without Premium now leads to the same result.

The best way is to simply adjust how you use YouTube, keeping the screen on while listening.

It is also worth keeping browsers and apps updated. Platform rules change often, and some features appear or disappear without much notice.

More broadly, this update is another reminder that free access on major platforms can change quickly. Features that feel standard today can be restricted tomorrow, especially when subscriptions are involved.

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YouTube blocking background playback on mobile browsers may seem like a small update, but it highlights a wider shift. Large platforms are tightening control over how their services are used and drawing firmer lines between free and paid experiences.

The key takeaway is awareness. Understanding how and why these changes happen makes it easier to decide what tools, apps, or subscriptions are worth keeping.

For now, if your YouTube videos stop playing when your screen goes dark, it is not your phone acting up. It is YouTube enforcing its rules, and reminding users that convenience increasingly comes at a price.