YouTube Background Playback Is Being Blocked on Mobile Browsers — What Still Works in 2026

If you use Brave, Vivaldi, or Microsoft Edge on your phone, you may have already noticed something frustrating: YouTube background playback is quietly breaking. Once again, Google has tightened the screws, shutting down a loophole that allowed users to listen to YouTube with the screen off—without paying for YouTube Premium.

For years, mobile browsers offered a convenient workaround. Lock your screen, keep the audio playing, and enjoy music or podcasts for free. That era is clearly coming to an end. Google has rolled out stricter detection methods on mobile, and most third-party browsers are now affected.

The good news? Not everything is dead yet. Some methods still work—others are hanging by a thread. Here’s the full breakdown of what still works, what no longer works, and what’s actually reliable in 2026.

Brave, Vivaldi, Edge: Background Playback Is Basically Over

Let’s get straight to the point: this method is essentially dead.

Recent tests across Android devices show that:

• Audio stops as soon as the screen is locked
• Playback cuts off when the browser goes into the background
• Behavior is inconsistent, even within the same browser version

There are occasional reports of background playback still working on Brave, but it’s so unreliable that it’s not worth counting on. Google has clearly closed this door, and third-party Chromium-based browsers can no longer bypass the restriction consistently.

If this was your go-to trick, it’s time to move on.

Firefox on Android: Still Works, But It’s Fragile

On Android, Firefox remains the last mainstream browser where background playback can sometimes be forced—but it’s a constant game of cat and mouse.

The Extension Method

Using Firefox for Android with the extension Video Background Play Fix, you can still trick YouTube into thinking the tab is active even when the screen is locked.

• Sometimes it works for days or weeks
• Sometimes YouTube breaks it overnight
• There are no guarantees

The User-Agent Trick (Even Less Reliable)

Another workaround is spoofing your User-Agent with extensions like User-Agent Switcher, making YouTube think you’re on a desktop browser.

Unfortunately, YouTube no longer relies solely on the user-agent string. Server-side checks make this method increasingly ineffective.

Bottom line: Firefox methods still work for now, but they’re unstable and can stop working at any time.

Alternative YouTube Clients: The Only Truly Reliable Solution

If you’re tired of constantly fighting Google updates, alternative YouTube clients are the most reliable option by far—especially on Android.

NewPipe: The Gold Standard

NewPipe remains the most popular open-source YouTube client.

Key features:

• Background playback (screen off, audio continues)
• Video and audio downloads
• Picture-in-Picture mode
• No ads, no trackers
• No Google account required
• Also supports SoundCloud, PeerTube, and Bandcamp

Yes, YouTube regularly breaks its APIs, and NewPipe occasionally stops working—but updates come fast. In January 2026 alone, there were multiple hotfixes. Update via F-Droid, tap the Background button, lock your screen, and you’re good.

Other Excellent Alternatives

• Tubular – A NewPipe fork with SponsorBlock (auto-skips sponsored segments) and dislike counts
• LibreTube – Uses the Piped proxy, hiding your IP from YouTube and offering a cleaner, modern UI
• Grayjay – An all-in-one app for YouTube, Twitch, Dailymotion, and PeerTube (not fully open source, but very powerful)

These apps are installed via F-Droid or APK files, not the Play Store—for obvious reasons.

What About iPhone (iOS)?

On iOS, things are much more restrictive.

• Brave’s old Playlist feature used to work, but it’s now unreliable
• Safari + Control Center playback sometimes works, but not consistently
• There is no NewPipe equivalent on iOS

In short: background playback on iPhone is hit-or-miss at best. Apple’s ecosystem and App Store rules make true alternatives difficult to maintain.

The Real Reason This Is Happening

Google’s official explanation is to ensure a “consistent user experience.”
The real reason is obvious: pushing users toward YouTube Premium.

From Google’s perspective, background playback is a paid feature—and they’re increasingly enforcing it at the platform level, not just the app level.

Final Verdict: What You Should Use in 2026

• Android users:
  Use NewPipe, Tubular, or LibreTube. These are the most stable and reliable options.
• Firefox tricks:
  Temporary, fragile, and likely to break again.
• Brave / Edge / Vivaldi:
  Effectively blocked.
• iOS users:
  Limited options, no real long-term solution.

If you want background playback without paying, alternative clients are the only method that actually works long-term. Everything else is just temporary tinkering that Google will eventually shut down.

Now it’s your turn to test—and choose how much control you want over your device.