YouTube’s free picture-in-picture .. Considering that picture-in-picture, or PiP, has been a feature of Android for a long, we frequently take it for granted. In contrast, YouTube has long let users to use PiP on Android devices; but, later changes resulted in restrictions that prevented non-subscribing users from accessing it. In 2022, this was modified, but only for US users; users in other areas still needed a Premium membership to use PiP on YouTube. However, that seems to have changed in the last few weeks, since at least one of our editors’ devices now shows picture-in-picture as an option in Germany, even in the absence of a Premium membership.
YouTube’s free picture-in-picture
Differently, a number of Reddit posts discuss how to locate PiP on accounts that aren’t Premium. Two people from Europe have discovered this capability in another post. However, we don’t believe that this decision is official yet. Just a few days ago, the X/Twitter YouTube account stated that Premium memberships are required in order to use PiP outside of the US. That same day, another tweet echoed the same statement.
I was unable to duplicate this in India in the meantime, which suggests that either YouTube made a mistake or that this is a component of an experiment that is now only available to viewers in Europe. More significantly, we will approach this development with some suspicion because YouTube’s own remarks seem to contradict the emergence of PiP for free users outside of the US.
While some of these restrictions are still mentioned on YouTube’s help sites, it is made clear that US free users can still enjoy PiP there “except on certain content such as music videos.” If you are a worldwide subscriber to YouTube Premium, these limitations are not applicable to you. According to a Reddit user, PiP may not be available to free users on some videos that contain songs or other content that is protected by copyright, in addition to music videos.
Where can I get free images for YouTube?
In July 2022, the video streaming platform upgraded its YouTube applications for iPhone and iPad to include PiP. The site stated at the time that PiP will be available for all “non-music content” in the US to non-Premium users. Therefore, it’s possible that viewers outside of the US are receiving the same treatment from YouTube. We are unable to confirm if it will be generally accessible to all non-US YouTube users, though, as the corporation has not yet made an official statement on the matter.
