YouTube Blocks Free Background Listening on Mobile Browsers

The long-running game between YouTube and users seeking to bypass its paywall has entered a new phase. According to a surge of user reports, the platform appears to have successfully patched a popular workaround that allowed mobile users to listen to video audio in the background without paying for a Premium subscription.

The End of the Browser Hack? For years, one of the primary selling points of YouTube Premium has been “background play”—the ability to keep audio running while minimizing the app or locking the phone screen. However, savvy users discovered that by bypassing the official YouTube app and using third-party mobile browsers like Samsung Internet, Firefox, or Brave, they could often replicate this feature for free.

That loophole now seems to be closing. Reports aggregating on platforms like PiunikaWeb indicate that the functionality has abruptly broken for a significant number of users. The issue is most prevalent on Samsung’s native browser, but similar complaints are rolling in from users of Microsoft Edge, Vivaldi, and Brave.

Technical Indicators of a Patch Users report that the audio now cuts out immediately upon minimizing the browser or turning off the display, mirroring the restrictive behavior of the free YouTube mobile app.

Crucially, some users have spotted a fleeting system notification reading “MediaOngoingActivity” that flashes briefly before the media controls vanish from the notification shade. This technical quirk suggests that YouTube’s web player is now actively checking for screen activity or browser focus and terminating the stream if the conditions for a free account are not met. While one user noted the feature might still be functional on specific versions of Brave, the consensus is that a widespread server-side change has been implemented.

A History of Enforcement This move aligns with Google’s increasingly aggressive stance on protecting its monetization model. In late 2025, the platform launched a rigorous crackdown on ad blockers, causing performance issues and “fake” downtime for users employing unapproved extensions.

By disabling browser-based background play, YouTube is effectively removing one of the last remaining free alternatives to its subscription service. As the company continues to push for revenue growth, the message to users is becoming increasingly binary: tolerate the limitations of the free tier, or pay for Premium.