YouTube is quietly expanding one of its most requested features, and this time it benefits users far beyond the United States. The platform’s picture-in-picture feature, known as PiP, has existed for years. However, access remained limited for most users unless they paid for Premium or lived in the US. That restriction is now changing.
Starting this week, YouTube is rolling out PiP support to non-Premium users worldwide. As a result, more people on Android and iOS can now watch videos while using other apps. However, the update comes with a clear limitation. Free users will only get PiP access for long-form, non-music content. Meanwhile, users in the US will not see any change, as they already have broader access.
At the same time, YouTube is aligning non-Premium users with its Premium Lite tier. Both groups now face the same restriction when it comes to music playback in PiP mode. In other words, background viewing for music remains locked behind stricter controls.
So, what exactly counts as music content? YouTube includes all music videos under this rule. This covers official music videos, Art Tracks, children’s songs, and even user-generated music content. Because of this, users will still need Premium if they want uninterrupted music playback in PiP.
