Microsoft Edge for Android to allow YouTube in background: What it means

Microsoft Edge's Canary release has a new built-in feature that lets users play YouTube in the background on Android device, without requiring premium subscription

Microsoft Edge for Android could soon let users bypass the YouTube subscription paywall and play videos in the background on supported smartphones. According to a report by Android Authority, consumers using the Microsoft Edge browser on supported Android devices might soon be able to enable background video playback in YouTube.

 

For the uninitiated, playing a YouTube video or YouTube Music in background on mobile devices is available only to the premium subscribers (paid users) and that too directly through the apps, and not through browsers.

 

As per Android Authority, a new feature has been discovered in Microsoft Edge’s Canary (release meant for early testers) for Android that allows users to play videos from YouTube and other sites in the background without having to keep that tab open continuously.

 

How to enable background video playback

Following the steps below will enable the feature on your Android device:

• Download Microsoft Edge Canary on your Android device and open it.
• Type “edge://flags” in the search field and hit Enter
• Search for “Video Background Play” and choose “Enabled” from its status drop-down menu.
• Restart the browser.
• Visit the Microsoft Edge homepage, tap on the Options menu (also known as the Hamburger icon) at the bottom right corner of the screen, and click on Settings.
• Click on “Site settings”, then on “Background video playback,” enable the “Background audio playback” toggle.

I tried the above steps and verified this independently. The feature has been working without any glitch. However, the auto-play feature, which plays next video automatically, is not working. I had to open YouTube in order to play the next video through the playlist.

YouTube videos will now keep playing in the background without requiring a YouTube Premium subscription. They will no longer pause when you change tabs in Microsoft Edge, switch between apps, or lock your device. The same functionality extends to other websites as well, Android Authority reported.