YouTube’s Picture-in-Picture Mode Broken on Android and iOS
YouTube’s picture-in-picture mode is broken on both Android and iOS. Google acknowledged the bug and stated that its teams are “actively investigating.”
Audio keeps playing in the background, but the floating video window does not appear. Most reports are from iPhone users, though the issue has also been observed on Android.
Picture-in-picture was a popular feature introduced to all users earlier this year, allowing viewers to continue watching videos in a small overlay while using other apps.
Google has been focusing heavily on AI this year, but this appears to be a software regression rather than a feature change. Currently, there is no workaround for the issue. Users affected will have to wait for a fix.
Google did not provide a timeline for the fix or details regarding the cause of the regression.
DuckDuckGo saw an 18% increase in installations after Google’s AI search overhaul, and YouTube’s app reliability faces little competition. This bug, affecting a feature recently made free, could erode user goodwill.
Story by Ana Maria Constantin, an expert in digital marketing, product management, and branding & identity who develops strategies for the software/SaaS industry.