YouTube Restores iOS 14 Picture in Picture Capability on Mobile Website

Tonight, the YouTube website has started allowing iOS 14 devices to use the built-in Picture in Picture functionality for its videos even without a Premium account.

This is an apparent reversal of a change that YouTube explicitly made following the release of iOS 14 which blocked such behavior. At that time, YouTube would only allow that capability for users with Premium accounts. Tonight's change means that any YouTube visitor can use Picture in Picture in Safari.


iOS 14 introduced native Picture in Picture capability to the iPhone for the first time, however, apps have to explicitly support the feature. YouTube's native app has never supported Picture in Picture for any of its users even though iPadOS has offered the capability for some time. There have been reports that YouTube has been testing this feature, but there have been no announcements.

As a result, iOS 14 users have had to resort to using YouTube in Safari as a workaround. Since there have been no announcements either way, it's unclear if this change is permanent or not.

Thanks Jorge

Related Forum: iOS 14

Popular Stories

iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
New Intel Logo

Apple and Intel Rumored to Partner on Mac Chips Again in a New Way

Friday November 28, 2025 7:33 am PST by
While all Macs are now powered by Apple's custom-designed chips, a new rumor claims that Apple may rekindle its partnership with Intel, albeit in a new and limited way. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said Intel is expected to begin shipping Apple's lowest-end M-series chip as early as mid-2027. Kuo said Apple plans to utilize Intel's 18A process, which is the "earliest...
iphone black friday gold

The Best Black Friday iPhone Deals Still Available

Friday November 28, 2025 6:24 am PST by
Cellular carriers have always offered big savings on the newest iPhone models during the holidays, and Black Friday 2025 sales have kicked off at AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and more. Right now we're tracking notable offers on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air. For even more savings, keep an eye on older models during the holiday shopping season. Note: MacRumors is...
apple store down feature

Here's Why the Apple Store is Going Down

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:01 pm PST by
Apple's online store is going down for a few hours on a rolling country-by-country basis right now, but do not get your hopes up for new products. Apple takes its online store down for a few hours ahead of Black Friday every year to tease/prepare for its annual gift card offer with the purchase of select products. The store already went down and came back online in Australia and New Zealand, ...
streaming black friday 2025

Best Black Friday Streaming Deals - Save Big on Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:14 pm PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
iphone air camera

iPhone Air Flop Sparks Industry Retreat From Ultra-Thin Phones

Thursday November 27, 2025 3:14 am PST by
Apple's disappointing iPhone Air sales are causing major Chinese mobile vendors to scrap or freeze their own ultra-thin phone projects, according to reports coming out of Asia. Since the ‌iPhone Air‌ launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales and manufacturing cuts, while Apple's supply chain has scaled back shipments and production. Apple supplier Foxconn has...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: Apple's Big Plans for iPad Mini 8

Friday November 28, 2025 8:39 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through the latest rumors about Apple's upcoming iPad mini 8. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos The next-generation version of the iPad mini is expected to feature an OLED display, as part of Apple's plan to expand the display technology across many more of its devices. Apple's first OLED device was the Apple...
Cyber Monday Deals 2025

Best Cyber Monday Apple Deals Include Big Discounts on AirPods, Apple Watch, and More

Sunday November 30, 2025 7:33 am PST by
Now that Black Friday is in the rearview mirror, Cyber Monday discounts have begun appearing online, and you can find popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more at all-time low prices. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may ...

Top Rated Comments

ctg7w6 Avatar
67 months ago
How about you let me use it from the app itself? It should be free as a part of iOS, but I am also a premium subscriber. I wish there were a YouTube alternative. Unfortunately, due to the (insane) number of ads it is actually worth it TO ME to subscribe even if I get jacked over and don't get PiP from the app.

Honestly, YouTube is a pretty shameful company.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rjp1 Avatar
67 months ago

How about you let me use it from the app itself? It should be free as a part of iOS, but I am also a premium subscriber. I wish there were a YouTube alternative. Unfortunately, due to the (insane) number of ads it is actually worth it TO ME to subscribe even if I get jacked over and don't get PiP from the app.

Honestly, YouTube is a pretty shameful company.
You should really consider using an ad blocker. They get rid of all Youtube ads. More importantly, they get rid of a lot of dangerous ads.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jamieinoc Avatar
67 months ago

This just might have been a bug. Pip continued to work in chrome and Firefox even though it didn’t work in safari and edge.

What I want to know is, when is 4K (non hdr) coming to iPhone and appletv 4K?
It wasn’t a bug. There was code specifically designed to detect PIP and stop it.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iZac Avatar
67 months ago
Don’t worry they’ll still drill you with constant “one month free trial” Premium offers.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
javisan Avatar
67 months ago
Enabling in Safari works perfect for me as that is how I view YouTube in my iPhone. I have an adblocker that completely removes all ads embedded to the videos.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Tapoma Avatar
67 months ago

YouTube provides nearly unlimited entertainment. You think they give this out for free? Ads are the only thing that’s keeping the website running. Those servers storing those videos aren’t cheap to maintain. It’s also how creators get paid as well, the creators can choose how many ads show up in a video.

They have a paid subscription if you don’t want to see ads, what’s there to complain about again?
The issue with YouTube Premium is the cost. It is not providing sufficient value for money for us as customers. £11.99 per month to remove ads is completely excessive, and they have purposely degraded the free experience (in app) in order to annoy customers into subscribing.

If Google let us pay to remove ads in the app and have background playback at a reasonable price I’d pay for it because I use the YouTube app a lot. But they bundle it with a music streaming service I have no interest in, and YouTube originals which I also have no interest in.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)