Microsoft has made background video playback, a popular YouTube Premium feature, free for Android users in the Edge browser. The company is currently offering this feature in Edge Canary, the browser’s testing version.

Microsoft Brings YouTube Premium

This feature ensures that the audio continues to play uninterrupted after a YouTube video is launched, even if users switch to another app, lock their phone’s screen, or navigate to a different tab.

To use background video playback, Android users must install the latest version of Edge Canary. Then, by entering edge://flags in the browser address bar, finding and activating the “Video Background Play” option, and then enabling it in the browser settings by going to Site settings > Background audio playback.

Microsoft’s move offers an alternative for users who don’t want to subscribe to YouTube Premium but are still looking for it. If this feature is added to the stable version of Edge, YouTube Premium subscriptions could be significantly impacted.

So how will Google react to this? It’s known that Google previously blocked some Microsoft apps, claiming they violated YouTube’s rules. Therefore, Google’s stance on this issue has become a source of curiosity in the tech world.

So, what are your thoughts on this? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.