YouTube picture-in-picture may be globally expanding beyond the premium membership،
Picture-in-Picture (PiP), the feature that lets you watch videos in a floating window while using other apps, is a must-have for many mobile users. While Android has had PiP built into the operating system for some time, the YouTube app itself has been more selective about its availability.
Until recently, only YouTube Premium subscribers outside the United States could take advantage of PiP, unlike in the United States where free users enjoyed this benefit. However, this seems to be changing, as reports circulate non-Premium users in Europe suddenly discovering access to YouTube's PiP feature.
Conflicting information and speculation among users
In a confusing way, like Android Font notes, YouTube official support page still maintain that PiP requires a Premium subscription outside the United States. Additionally, the functionality was not reproducible when tested outside of Europe. This leads to a few possible scenarios:
- Experimentation: YouTube may be testing PiP with a select group of non-Premium European users.
- Accidental deployment: The appearance of the feature could be an unintentional error.
- Official announcement delayed: An expansion of PiP for non-Premium users outside the US could be in the works, but YouTube has yet to make an official statement.
Possible limits and American precedent
Even if expanded PiP access becomes official, some restrictions may still apply. YouTube's support pages indicate that even in the United States, where non-Premium PiP debuted, music videos remain unavailable without Premium. Some copyrighted content could be similarly restricted for free users. This corresponds to the rollout of PiP in 2022 to non-Premium users on iPhone and iPad in the United States. At the time, YouTube specified “non-music content” as the scope of the PiP extension.
While the evidence currently looks promising, it's too early to say for sure whether YouTube's PiP will be widely available to non-Premium users outside of the United States. It will be interesting to see how YouTube continues to balance providing access to PiP for non-Premium users while respecting copyright restrictions. As the platform evolves, it is likely that further updates and changes will follow.
