If you’ve ever tried to watch a YouTube video while switching to another app, you know how annoying it is when the video just stops. Picture-in-Picture fixes that, shrinking the video into a small floating window you can move around while you do other things. YouTube is now rolling out free YouTube Picture-in-Picture to all users worldwide on Android and iOS, meaning you no longer need a Premium subscription to use it outside the US.
US users have had free PiP access since at least 2022. Everyone else has had to pay for YouTube Premium to unlock it. That changes with this rollout, though the full global expansion will happen gradually over the coming months according to YouTube.
What’s Included and What Isn’t
The free tier covers longform, non-music content. So tutorials, vlogs, podcasts, reviews, that kind of thing. Music videos stay locked behind Premium. That distinction also applies to Premium Lite subscribers, who get the same PiP access as free users on this front. Full Premium members keep everything, including PiP for music content on top of the usual perks like ad-free playback.
To use it, just start a video and swipe up or hit the home button to leave the app. The video shrinks into a floating window you can drag around or resize. Tap it to bring up playback controls, or tap again to jump back into the app. If the feature hasn’t appeared yet, you can also check Settings > General > Picture-in-Picture inside the YouTube app.
Back in early 2024, there were signs YouTube was testing PiP for non-subscribers outside the US. European users were reporting access even before the support page reflected the change. This official rollout confirms what that testing was pointing toward. YouTube has been walking a fine line lately between expanding free features and pushing Premium value. The platform recently tested playback speed controls behind a paywall before backing off. This move goes in the opposite direction.