YouTube’s picture-in-picture mode for Android and iOS is now making its way to all users around the world, including those who aren’t paying for a Premium subscription. Team YouTube says the feature will pop up in more and more users’ accounts over the coming months, so it could take some time to reach most people’s accounts. But once it arrives for them, they’ll be able to shrink the YouTube video they’re playing and continue watching it even after they leave the app. To activate the feature, they simply have to swipe up or press on the home button to close YouTube. The video will keep on playing in a mini player that they can move around on their screen.
The feature first became available on Android and iOS for Premium subscribers in the US back in 2018 and 2021, respectively, before everyone in the country got access to it. In the feature’s support page, Team YouTube says there will be no changes to the experience for people in the US. Everyone else will get access to picture-in-picture for longform, non-music content on Android and iOS. Premium subscribers notably get an extra perk: The ability to use picture-on-picture for both music and non-music content.