YouTube has blocked free background playback on mobile browsers, muting audio when screens turn off, pushing users toward Premium subscriptions and ending popular workarounds used across Android devices.
Published: February 9, 2026 3:29 PM IST
YouTube has finally clamped down on a workaround many non-Premium users relied on to play videos in the background without subscribing. Brave users were able to listen to YouTube videos in the background by opening them in the mobile browser with videos playing. However, doing so now mutes the video.
YouTube Stops Playing Videos In Background On Free Accounts
YouTube background play was always one of the most coveted features for YouTube Premium. Subscribers could listen to videos with their screens off or while using other apps on their devices. Some users discovered that by opening mobile YouTube pages in third-party browsers – like Brave, Samsung Internet, Vivaldi, and Microsoft Edge – that they could trick the website into allowing background playback as well.
YouTube Shuts Down Background Audio as Playback Stops Off-Screen
Users across platforms are reporting that if they open YouTube videos in another browser with the screen off, YouTube automatically mutes the video. The audio will stop playing if you’re not watching it onscreen. Users are told “Media will stop playing when you go to the Home screen.” Some users claim to see a notification that says “MediaOngoingActivity,” but the onscreen player controls simply disappear.
YouTube Responds To Background Playback Update
YouTube confirmed the change when contacted by The Register. A YouTube spokesperson said:
“The background playback feature is a premium experience. In some cases, background playback may have been available in mobile web browsers for non-Premium users, but we’ve made changes to YouTube to ensure consistency.”
Translation: If you want YouTube videos to play while you do other things on your phone (or your phone’s screen is off), you need YouTube Premium.
Brave Isn’t Impressed
Brave users were one of the largest groups of people who discovered and used this workaround. Some Brave users claimed background playback continued to work if you played a video and then hit minimize instead of closing out of Brave completely. However, this likely won’t work for long, as Google eventually plans to detect and stop it.
For now, users can try using YouTube in desktop mode in their phone browser. Users could also try using third-party apps or frontends like Invidious. But YouTube will almost certainly deter these methods moving forward as well.
YouTube Is Always Finding Ways To Get Users To Subscribe
YouTube Premium starts at Rs. 149/month at the time of writing and allows users to watch videos without ads, download videos, and listen to videos in the background.
YouTube has been slowly cutting features from non-subscribers for years now. At this point, it may be worth it to subscribe. Or users can continue to find their own workarounds.
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