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I like to 'listen' to YouTube video in the background while I am surfing on my desktop. However, I cannot do this on the iPad as, as soon as I switch from YouTube video to the browser, the video pauses. Is there a solution for this either in the form of an app or a website?

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  • None of the answers below work for iOS 10 or newer.
    – Stevoisiak
    Sep 2, 2017 at 18:44
  • On iPadPro 2020 (iPadOS14.7.1) I was able to start playback in Brave browser (Safari did not do the trick) then go to Home screen (playback stopped) then swipe down and continue playpack with the widget. After that I could open Books.app and anything else; the music keeps playing.
    – t3az0r
    Aug 10, 2021 at 7:09

5 Answers 5

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Try the following steps :

1: Start the video from YouTube whilst in Safari.

2: Hit Home key once. You'll exit Safari and playback will stop.

3: Double-tap Home key to bring up the app-switcher. Slide to the right to bring up background audio controls. The icon on the right side will show whichever program you last used with background audio: Safari.

4: Press Play. Youtube audio will resume playback.

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  • 1
    I use this on my iPhone all the time, can't see why it wouldn't work on the iPad.
    – Josh Hunt
    Apr 14, 2011 at 15:46
  • Wow I never thought to check the audio controls. I assumed it wouldn't work with videos.
    – styfle
    Feb 11, 2012 at 18:23
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    This no longer works as of iOS 10.
    – Stevoisiak
    Sep 2, 2017 at 18:43
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Play the video on youtube. Hit home button to exit, lock the screen, hit home button again 2 times, the current playing track will be displayed at the top of screen with play button under it. tap that and voila. (works with iOS 5)

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  • Welcome to Ask Different! When answering questions, please make sure there isn't already an accepted answer with the same solution as you have.
    – Tuesday
    Feb 23, 2012 at 13:09
  • This is for the YouTube app directly - no need to launch Safari. Nice find.
    – iolsmit
    Mar 16, 2012 at 2:11
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It looks like google is hunting down and killing all apps with threats and API terms changes to make it impossible to write an app that does. Ore than safari can do for YouTube.

I am and was a satisfied user of protube and have deep respect for how the author tried to not take away features from past paid users of the app.

I don’t use google's app either, but that might be the only solution for people going forward.

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  • Play a youtube video
  • Press home button -> video/audio stops
  • Press home button twice to bring the multi task bar
  • Swipe right to see the music controls
  • Click play button and enjoy the music... :)
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One simple solution that I use is to simply convert and download the video to an mp3. Then you can save it and play it back anytime. There is a great new tool that will let you convert and download YouTube videos right from your browser. This is free although you will need to create an account and login to use it. Learn more on my blog...

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    Welcome to Ask Different! Could you please summarize or excerpt the contents of the article you linked to in the answer? The idea is to make the answer stand alone. Please take a look at the FAQs for more info. Thanks.
    – Nathan Greenstein
    Feb 11, 2012 at 17:27

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