To keep YouTube playing while using other apps on your iPhone, use the Picture-in-Picture (PiP) feature by enabling it in both your iPhone's Settings > General > Picture in Picture (turn on Start PiP Automatically) and the YouTube app's Settings > General, then swipe up from the video to enter PiP mode; or, for audio-only background play without Premium, use a web browser (like Safari or Chrome), request the desktop site, start the video, and use the Control Center to resume playback after exiting the browser.
It's because YouTube music doesn't allow playback while screen off. It's only a premium feature, provided by YouTube. Playback feature while screen off is only available for premium subscriptions.
How to Stop YouTube from Pausing on Mobile Devices
Background play only works in YouTube mobile apps and requires a YouTube Premium membership. Some videos aren't available for background play or to download offline, even if you have a channel membership.
Method 1: Use Built-In PiP Mode in Chrome
To use picture-in-picture (PiP), exit the YouTube app while a video is playing. If you have the PiP setting turned on, the video will shrink into a PiP window. The PiP window can be dragged to different parts of the screen, allowing playback to continue on top of other apps.
The reason your iPhone's screen keeps dimming and turning off is because of a feature called Auto-Lock, which automatically puts the iPhone into sleep mode after a certain period of time. Two-thirds of the way through the set period, the screen dims to half brightness. To fix it, you need to turn the feature off.
To prevent YouTube from pausing videos automatically, you can consider using add-ons such as "YouTube NonStop," which prevents automatic pausing by automatically interacting with the activity confirmation message.
The "30-second rule" on YouTube refers to the critical first moments of a video, where creators must hook viewers within about 30 seconds to get them to keep watching, as YouTube registers meaningful engagement after this mark, impacting visibility and watch time. It's a key focus for audience retention, with strategies involving dynamic editing (B-roll, angles), emotional hooks, and clear value propositions, but it's distinct from copyright myths about using 30-second music clips.
You can play YouTube in the background using a browser trick (requesting desktop site in Chrome/Safari) for free audio, enabling Picture-in-Picture (PiP) in app settings for video multitasking (often needs Premium), or by subscribing to YouTube Premium for seamless background audio and video across devices.