YouTube Background Play on Android
The last major Android browser that still lets YouTube keep playing when the screen turns off. Combined with our built-in ad blocker, Jade turns any phone into a free music player — Bluetooth speaker, locked screen, no subscription.
Every other browser broke this in 2026
YouTube used to keep playing audio in any Android browser when you locked your phone. It was the simplest way to listen to a long talk, a podcast, or a music mix while your screen stayed off and your battery lasted all day.
In 2026 YouTube rolled out changes that pause playback whenever the browser tab loses focus. Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Samsung Internet — all complied. The official YouTube Android app keeps the feature, but only behind a paid YouTube Premium subscription.
We kept it working
Jade Browser keeps the YouTube tab active even when the screen turns off. Press play, lock your phone, drop it in your pocket — audio keeps flowing. No subscription, no separate app, no setup. It just works the way browsers used to.
No tab pausing. No focus-loss timer cutting your video off after thirty seconds. Lock the phone and the audio carries on, as long as the video is still playing in the tab.
Free music on a Bluetooth speaker
Put it together. YouTube has every song, mix, and album ever recorded. Jade blocks every ad. Jade keeps the audio playing with the screen off. Pair your phone with a Bluetooth speaker and the result is, in practical terms, a free Spotify Premium subscription.
For pub nights, parties, the garden, a long drive, a workshop — anywhere you want background music from a Bluetooth speaker, your phone running Jade is the source. No ads. No subscription. Any track on Earth.
And because the screen stays dark, battery life is dramatically longer than playing YouTube the normal way. A phone that would die after three hours of screen-on YouTube can stream all evening with Jade.
The whole stack, free
- Audio keeps playing when the screen turns off
- No YouTube ads — pre-roll, mid-roll, or banner
- Bluetooth-speaker friendly — phone in pocket, music in the room
- Massive battery saving — screen-off is the cheapest power state
- No subscription — not YouTube Premium, not Spotify Premium, nothing
- Access to every track on YouTube — the world’s largest music library
- Works on any Android phone running Android 8 or later
Two-minute setup
- Install Jade Browser from the Play Store (or the direct APK download).
- Open
youtube.comin Jade. - Pair your phone with your Bluetooth speaker, if you want one.
- Start a video, playlist, or live mix.
- Lock your phone. Music keeps playing.