Google simply made YouTube worse on cell, however it was certain to occur

In the event you’ve been secretly utilizing your non-Chrome net browser to take heed to YouTube movies along with your Android display screen off, then I’ve some unhealthy information for you: Google has reportedly caulked this cell loophole with a hearty dose of sealant.

As per a report by PiunikaWeb (via 9to5Google), the power to drag up the YouTube web site inside a third-party Android browser like Edge, Firefox, and Samsung Internet to proceed playback with the display screen off is now not working. I examined this out by myself Pixel 10 operating the Edge browser, and, certainly, the YouTube audio feed cuts out a second or two after I click on the handset’s sleep/wake key.

This habits is not totally new — Google Chrome for Android hasn’t allowed for screen-off background play for a while now, and the identical goes for all of the mainstream browsers out there for iPhone. Because it stands now, a paid YouTube Premium subscription is required to unlock this functionality on cell with out operating into vital friction.

This was certain to occur

Google would quite have you ever join YouTube Premium

For the longest time now, Google has been pushing to make its paid YouTube Premium subscription the one and solely strategy to legitimately use the service with out ads and with entry to background playback on cell. We have seen the corporate play an aggressive game of whack-a-mole with ad-blocking browser extensions on desktop, and the native YouTube app throughout iOS, iPadOS, and Android has by no means supported free screen-off playback to start with.

With this in thoughts, it is no shock to see Google plug what has turn into an ‘if you realize, you realize’ screen-off playback loophole throughout the Android world. After all, even with out this workaround, different strategies are nonetheless out there for listening to movies with a display screen off whereas forgoing YouTube Premium. There’s all the time YouTube ReVanced, NewPipe, and different non-Google-sanctioned software program options, although these software program choices aren’t out there over on the Apple aspect of the aisle.

Whereas I can perceive Google’s want to lock fascinating options behind a recurring paywall, the dearth of any kind of background play help inside YouTube’s free mobile app — together with with the display screen on whereas utilizing one other app — stays a selected ache level for me. I’ve all the time been capable of reduce a YouTube window or tab on my PC, and never having the ability to take action on Android or iPadOS with out whipping out a bank card is irritating. In the intervening time, at the very least I can proceed to emulate components of the YouTube Premium expertise on PC via some clever free web browser extensions.