Just days after YouTube moved to block non-Premium users from experiencing its background playback feature, which allows videos to continue playing after users leave the app or turn off their screens, Brave Browser has fired back with a fix.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Brave said that it “has even updated its browser to bypass Google's latest block.”
Like many companies that have rolled out premium offers, Google has struggled as users seek ways to experience premium features on third-party apps and other hacks.
The updates from Google affected several browsers, including Brave, stopping vidoes from playing once the screen was locked or the app was minimized—a feature that had formerly worked without issue.
In a statement confirming the news that it had taken extra steps to block the premium feature, Google said that it wants the feature to be only for premium members.
Ejiro Onose
“Background playback is a feature intended to be exclusive for YouTube Premium members. While some non-premium users may have previously been able to access this through mobile web browsers... we have updated the experience to ensure consistency across all our platforms,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement.
To enable the background playback on the browser, Brave told its users to go to Settings > Shields & Privacy > Content Filtering and tap the "Update" button.
Next, go to Settings > Media and then toggle "Enable Background Audio" or "Background Play."
When Google first confirmed that it had blocked the loophole that allowed non-premium members to experience the feature, Brave had fired back that the feature was still active on Android and desktop.
PSA: YouTube background play should be working again on Android and desktop! 🎉
— Brave (@brave) January 30, 2026
We've released a temporary fix already and will roll out an official fix next week. Thank you for your patience!
“PSA: YouTube background play should be working again on Android and desktop! 🎉 We've released a temporary fix already and will roll out an official fix next week. Thank you for your patience,” it said on X.
A day later, on February 1, it announced that iOS users could also now experience the feature. "If it’s not working yet, update the content filters by going to Settings > Shields & Privacy > Content Filtering and clicking the 'Update Lists' button. Also make sure you have 'Enable Background Audio' turned on at Settings > Media," it posted.
We tested Brave's claim, and as illustrated by the video below, the YouTube background playback on Brave works.
Video Credit: Techloy
