What Is Picture-in-Picture?
Picture-in-Picture (PiP) is a feature that allows an app to continue running in the background as a small floating window. Some video apps have this feature, such as YouTube.
YouTube’s Picture-in-Picture feature allows users to continue watching YouTube videos in a small window while using other apps or browsing the device. This small window can be thought of as a small player. You can place this small window anywhere on the screen, allowing you to continue watching while interacting with other apps or content.
PiP is available on various platforms. You can experience this feature on smartphones or some web browsers. For example, on the YouTube website, you can shrink the video to play in the PiP window. On mobile devices, you can also turn on the PiP feature in the YouTube app. Then you can continue watching the video when you exit the YouTube app.
Now, in addition to the Picture-in-Picture feature provided by the application itself, some mobile phone systems also support the Picture-in-Picture feature. This feature allows users to open two applications at the same time. Picture-in-Picture can handle multiple tasks at the same time, saving you time. In addition, it can help you make effective use of screen space. In short, in today’s fast-paced era, the Picture-in-Picture feature is a trend.
Who Can Use YouTube Shorts Picture-in-Picture Feature?
YouTube had a Picture-in-Picture feature before, but it was not included in Shorts at that time. Now YouTube allows Shorts videos to enter Picture-in-Picture mode. However, it’s a bit regrettable that not all users can experience YouTube’s Picture-in-Picture feature.
The premise of using the Picture-in-Picture feature to watch YouTube videos is that you have subscribed to YouTube Premium. If you are not a YouTube Premium subscriber, but you are in the United States, you can still use the Picture-in-Picture feature. However, you cannot watch certain content, such as music videos.
If you are neither a YouTube Premium member nor in the United States. You cannot use YouTube Shorts PiP feature.
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How to Use YouTube Shorts Picture-in-Picture Feature?
Just like watching YouTube regular videos with the Picture-in-Picture feature, you need to enable this feature in settings first. Here’s how:
Step 1: Visit the YouTube app and click the You tab and press the gear icon.

Step 2: Choose the General option.

Step 3: Toggle the Picture-in-picture option on.
Step 4: Then go to the Shorts tab to play a video.
Step 5: Exit the app while the video is playing.
You will see the short video shrink into a small window. After that, you can drag this window to any position on the screen, adjust the size of this window, pause video playback, etc.
Can You Put YouTube Shorts into PiP Mode without YouTube Premium?
If you don’t want to subscribe to YouTube Premium but still want to play YouTube videos in a small window, you can check if your smartphone supports the Picture-in-Picture feature. Below I will explain step by step how to enable the Picture-in-Picture feature on the latest iOS and Android systems.
# iOS
- Click the Settings icon on your screen.
- Press the General option and then choose Picture in picture.
- Turn on the toggle of the Start PiP automatically option.
# Android
- Go to the device Settings.
- Choose Apps and tap Special app access.
- Press Picture-in-picture and make sure that YouTube is set to Allow.
Conclusion
This post tells you how to use the YouTube Shorts Picture-in-Picture feature in the YouTube app. This feature is currently only available to users who have subscribed to YouTube Premium. However, you can follow the steps provided in this article to check whether your mobile phone system supports the Picture-in-Picture feature. If it does, using the PiP function that comes with the mobile phone system can also meet your needs of playing YouTube videos in the background.