YouTube’s Picture-in-Picture mode may soon be available for non-premium users outside the US

YouTube started rolling out its PiP (Picture-in-Picture) feature to a wider audience in 2021. This popular feature of the video streaming app allows users to watch videos while accessing other apps on their device. YouTube users in non-US markets require a Premium subscription to access the PiP feature. But that could change in the future, as multiple posts on social media platforms indicate that non-premium users in Europe are currently getting access to YouTube’s PiP functionality.

Multiple threads on Reddit suggest that YouTube is rolling out a PiP mode for non-US subscribers. The posts included videos of the feature to add credence to the claims, showing a mini-player in a floating window for music videos while they were using other apps on their devices. Users mostly from the Europe region seem to have noticed the PiP feature on their devices.

YouTube has yet to reveal plans to expand PiP to non-US subscribers. So this information should be taken with a pinch of salt. Google is rumored to be testing PiP with a select group of non-Premium European users. Accidental deployment can also be due to unknown bugs.

However, a recent comment from the X YouTube account contradicts this statement. It states that PiP outside the US is currently limited to Premium subscriptions. According to YouTube support page for PiP, users outside the US will need to subscribe to Premium to access it.

Google has announced Picture-in-Picture support for all YouTube Premium subscribers on iOS worldwide, including India in 2021. On Android, the multitasking feature has been available for quite some time.

YouTube Premium in India it costs Rs. 129 per month. Google offers a one-month free membership plan for new users and Rs. 79 month student plan. The family plan, which allows for the addition of up to five members in the household, costs Rs. 189. Google charges Rs. 1290 for an annual plan, while a quarterly plan comes for Rs. 399. In addition to PiP, YouTube Premium offers benefits such as ad-free content, offline viewing, downloads and access to YouTube Music Premium.