PiP stands for Picture-in-Picture, and in YouTube, it is a feature that allows one to watch YouTube videos in a small floating window while multitasking on the phone. This feature comes in handy particularly when you want to watch a video while surfing the internet, checking email or using any other app on your phone.
YouTube PiP mode is not yet officially supported on the iPhone, but shortcuts come to the rescue yet again! You can use a custom shortcut to enable YouTube PiP on your iPhone. A shortcut, in simple words, is a set of instructions already given to the operating system to automate a task or a series of tasks on your iPhone. In the case of YouTube PiP, the shortcut simply opens the YouTube video in Safari instead of YouTube and runs a custom script to enable PiP mode.
Creating A Custom YouTube PiP Shortcut On Your iPhone
There is no single way to create a custom YouTube PiP shortcut on your phone. While you can use the Shortcuts app to create your own custom shortcut using a drag-and-drop interface, adding actions such as opening a specific URL in Safari or running a JavaScript, you can also use the Shortcuts app to install a pre-built shortcut to do the same.
However, creating a custom YouTube PiP shortcut using the Shortcuts app can be a complex and challenging experience, especially for those alien to coding or scripting. But, there are several online resources available that give step-by-step instructions on how to download and install a custom YouTube PiP shortcut on iPhone. YouTube tutorials, blog posts and online forums where users share their own custom shortcuts make up such online resources.
If you do not want to create your own custom YouTube PiP shortcut or do not have the expertise to do so, worry not! You can also download and install a pre-built shortcut from the Shortcuts app gallery, which is a collection of pre-built shortcuts that you can download and install on your iPhone. Such shortcuts are created by other users, keeping in view the performance of certain specific tasks, such as enabling PiP mode for YouTube videos. In this guide, we will be covering step-by-step instructions on how to download and install the YouTube PiP shortcut on iPhone in 14 simple steps!
How To Download And Install The YouTube PiP Shortcut On Iphone
Step 1 – Open the App Store
To begin the process of downloading the YouTube PiP shortcut, the first step is opening the App Store on your iPhone. To do this, tap the App Store icon on your home screen.
Step 2 – Search for the Shortcuts App
Once you’ve opened the App Store, tap on the search bar at the bottom of the screen and type ‘Shortcuts’ to locate the Shortcuts app.
Step 3 – Download and Install the Shortcuts App
The Shortcuts app should show at the top of the list after the search. Tap on the ‘Get’ button that is next to the app to download and install it to your iPhone. If you have already installed the Shortcuts app, or if it is pre-installed on your iPhone, you can skip this step.
Step 4 – Find the YouTube PiP shortcut
You need to find the YouTube PiP shortcut now that you have the Shortcuts app on your iPhone. Using the search function is the easiest way to locate the YouTube PiP shortcut. To do this, open the Shortcuts app and search ‘YouTube PiP’ using the search bar located at the bottom of the screen. In the search results, a list of shortcuts related to YouTube PiP will appear. Search for the ‘YouTube PiP’ shortcut and tap on it.
Step 5 – Add the Shortcut to Your Library
Once the shortcut page for the YouTube PiP shortcut has opened, click on the ‘Get’ option to download and install the shortcut. Depending upon the strength of your internet connection, it might take a few seconds to a few minutes to download and install the YouTube PiP shortcut. After reviewing the steps included in the shortcut, you can add the shortcut to your library by tapping the ‘Add to Library’ button and using it whenever you want to.
Step 6 – Enable the Shortcut
Now that you’ve successfully added the YouTube PiP shortcut to your Shortcuts library, you need to enable it. To enable the shortcut, go to the Settings app, tap on ‘Shortcuts’ and toggle on the ‘Allow Untrusted Shortcuts’ option.
Step 7 – Use the Shortcut
Now that the YouTube PiP shortcut is enabled, you can use it whenever you want to watch a YouTube video in PiP mode. Follow these steps to use it –
- Launch the YouTube app on your iPhone and open the video you wish to watch in PiP mode.
- Once the video loads, tap on the ‘Share’ option below the video.
- In the Share pop-up, tap on ‘Shortcuts’ and then select the ‘YouTube PiP’ shortcut saved in your library.
- The shortcut will launch in a few seconds and automatically start playing the video in PiP mode.
And just like that, in 6 easy steps, you know how to download and install the YouTube PiP shortcut on your iPhone. Here are a few additional notes that must be kept in mind:
- While the YouTube PiP shortcut works with most videos, it might not support a few videos due to technical reasons or restrictions.
- After sharing the video with the shortcut, you may need to wait for a few seconds before the shortcut activates and the video starts playing in PiP mode.
- Try restarting your iPhone or reinstalling the shortcut using the above steps if you are facing any issues with the YouTube PiP shortcut.
Conclusion
Overall, the YouTube PiP shortcut is a very useful tool for those who wish to watch YouTube videos while simultaneously using other apps on their iPhones or multitaskers. By following the steps explained in detail in this guide, downloading, installing and using the YouTube PiP shortcut should be a piece of cake! We hope you found this article interesting and informative. Thanks for reading, and keep following us for more such useful articles!