If you have Xposed Framework installed then you can easily play YouTube videos in the background with this single Xposed Module.
Multitasking is one of the big advantages with Android compared to iOS. Sadly, there are some restrictions when it comes to certain applications. Google makes money with YouTube by showing you advertisements. So letting you play videos in the background would make the company lose money in the end. Now, Google could detect something like this and then only play audio ads or something, but that wasn’t the route they went with.
Google went the subscription route instead, and now they want you to pay $10 per month in order to play these YouTube videos in the background.
YouTube Red also comes with a lot of other features and if those features interest you then the $10/month fee is a good value proposition. With YouTube Red, you also don’t have to watch any ads, you get access to original content and you get the YouTube Music feature to make your experience that much better. I’m all for people getting paid for their work, but restricting something like background playback for YouTube videos doesn’t seem fair. I don’t think(I’m just making the assumption here), that Google honestly has a problem with this. However, I do think that advertisers do and they pressured Google into imposing this limitation(and therefor, making Google care).
What is YouTube Background Playback
YouTube Background Playback is exactly that, an Xposed Module that will let you play YouTube videos in the background. Not only that, but they also give you a Google Play Music style notification controls so you can play, pause and skip through your playlist. It really is as simple as that. The Xposed Module is small(under 30kb is size) and it gets updated regularly. It seems like the module needs to be updated each time YouTube is updated. So if you rely on this, then you might want to hold off on updating the YouTube application until these developers release an update to the module.
How to Install YouTube Background Playback
- Launch the Xposed Framework Application
- Tap on Download
- Tap the Search Icon at the Top
- Search for the Following Name. . .
- YouTube Background Playback
- . . .Then Tap on the Xposed Module that Appears
- Swipe to the ‘Versions’ Tab
- Tap on the ‘Download’ Button for the Latest Version
- Tap on the ‘Install’ Button at the Bottom After the Module is Downloaded
- Go Back to the Xposed Framework Main Menu
- Tap on the ‘Modules’ Option
- Locate and Enable the YouTube Background Playback Xposed Module You Just Installed
- Reboot Your Device
- Launch YouTube
- Play a Video
- Then Press the Home Button While the Video is Playing
When you minimize YouTube while a video is playing, you’ll see this YouTube icon in your status bar. It isn’t present all the time, only when you have a YouTube video playing in the background. This notification reminds you that you have a video playing in the background and it also is the notification icon for the control panel as well. When you swipe down to reveal your notifications, you’ll see the control panel as it’s shown a couple of images up. You have a skip back, skip forward, play/pause buttons, and a small X to stop the video altogether. The skip forward and back buttons won’t do anything unless you are listening to a playlist.
I wish I could talk more about the Xposed Module because it really is incredibly useful. There’s just only so much I can say about such a simple module though. It does a couple of things and it does it well. I see the original developer has passed the project along to someone else. If you see esgie or iHelp101 around the XDA forums then please show your support in any way you can(a thanks, a donation, etc).
