YouTube App: Picture-in-Picture mode now available for all users

Google is rolling out the Picture-in-Picture mode for YouTube to additional users. Previously, only Premium users in Germany could expand the video stream to display it floating over other apps. In the future, free users will also have this option with some restrictions.

Google informs about this in a blog post. According to the post, users without a Premium subscription will be able to activate the Picture-in-Picture mode (PiP) for all videos except music videos in the future. Premium users can continue to use the floating video player for all videos.

To activate Picture-in-Picture mode, simply return to the home screen or switch to another app while a YouTube video is playing. A floating video player will open, which can be freely positioned and moved over other content on the screen. The size of the video player can be changed by zooming in or out with two fingers. Additionally, there are several controls to manage playback: a pause button, a skip button, and a button to close the view.

Picture-in-Picture can be switched off

If you would rather not use the Picture-in-Picture mode, you have several options. For example, you can simply pause the video playback before switching to another app – then the player won't pop out. You can also completely disable the feature in the YouTube app's settings.

Google offers the YouTube subscription in two tiers: while YouTube Premium is completely ad-free, YouTube Premium Lite still allows ad interruptions for some content. This includes music videos, shorts, and videos found via search.

Premium Lite users pay 6 euros per month for YouTube's entry-level subscription. The full Premium subscription costs more than double at 13 euros per month. It's slightly cheaper if you are a student (7.50 euros per month) or pay for a whole year (130 euros, i.e., 10.8 euros per month). The YouTube Premium family subscription covers up to six people and costs 24 euros per month.

(dahe)