The world of entertainment has gone completely online, and at the epicenter of free online entertainment is Google’s YouTube. There’s very little we can complain about YouTube’s 100% free online entertainment service, but one major complaint over the years for users has been the fact that you cannot play YouTube videos in the background.

Every time you want to listen to a song on YouTube or maybe a podcast, you need the YouTube app screen open for it continue playing. This can get annoying, so we bring you a simple and easy way to get past this hurdle. Here’s how to watch YouTube in the background on Android the easiest way.

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Step 1: Launch YouTube in Chrome browser

To listen to your favorite audio tracks in the background on YouTube even when the screen is turned off, all you need is your handy Google Chrome browser.

  • Launch Chrome and head over to youtube.com from the URL.
  • Press the menu icon on the top-right corner and check the box that says “Request desktop site”.
  • The desktop version of YouTube will open up on the screen.

While opening YouTube on the Chrome browser, you might be prompted to open YouTube with the installed app. Make sure you stay on the webpage and don’t redirect to the YouTube app.

Step 2: Play YouTube in background

Using the YouTube web version just like you would on your desktop, type in the name of the video that you want to watch. Play the video using the Chrome browser, and you will see the video playback controls pop up in the notification bar just as it would on a music player app.

At this point, you can press the home button to head back to the home screen, and the video playback will automatically pause. All you need to do is swipe down on the screen to bring up the notification window, and hit the Play button on the screen.

The video playback will resume, and you can now enjoy the YouTube video being played in the background. You can even go ahead and turn off the screen, but the video playback in the background will continue.

How much are you loving the ability to play YouTube videos in the background with no third-party app involved? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.