How to Watch YouTube in PiP on a Windows PC

Watching YouTube videos while multitasking on your Windows PC can greatly enhance your productivity or entertainment experience. With the Picture-in-Picture (PiP) feature, you can keep a small video window floating on top of other applications, allowing you to watch your favorite content without interrupting your workflow. In this guide, we'll show you how to enable and use YouTube's PiP mode across different browsers on a Windows PC.

What is YouTube PiP (Picture-in-Picture)?

Picture-in-Picture (PiP) allows you to play a YouTube video in a small floating window on your screen, so you can continue working on other applications while keeping the video in view. You can move the PiP window anywhere on your screen to suit your preferences and even resize it to the desired dimensions. The PiP window also provides controls to play or pause the video, close the window, or return to the full-size player in your browser tab.

Now that you're familiar with what PiP offers, we'll explore how to use YouTube's PiP mode in various popular browsers on a Windows PC, as the steps can differ slightly depending on which one you're using.

Playing a YouTube video in PiP on Chrome and Microsoft Edge

Using PiP mode for YouTube videos in Chrome and Microsoft Edge is very straightforward, and the process is the same for both browsers. With just a couple of clicks, you can enable PiP mode and continue multitasking without any hassle.

Step 1: Open Chrome or Microsoft Edge on your Windows PC from the Desktop, Taskbar, or Start Menu.

Step 2: Navigate to youtube.com and start playing the video you want to watch, whether it's from the home page, your history, or the watch later list.

Step 3: Right-click on the video player. A context menu will appear. Ignore this first menu by pressing the Esc key or clicking anywhere else.

Step 4: Right-click on the video player again. This second right-click will display a different context menu. From this menu, select the "Picture in Picture" option to activate PiP mode.

Step 5: After the video pops out into the PiP window, you can resize it by hovering over the edge of the window. When the cursor changes to a resize icon, click and drag to adjust the window to your preferred size, then release the mouse button.

Step 6: To reposition the PiP window, click and hold anywhere inside the window (avoiding any buttons), then drag it to the desired location on your screen and release the mouse button.

Step 7: To control playback, hover over the PiP window. You can pause the video by clicking the "Pause" button, close the PiP window by clicking the "X" button, or return to the full-size player in your browser by clicking the "Back to tab" button.

Watching a YouTube video in PiP on Firefox

Using PiP mode in Firefox is slightly different from Chrome, but even simpler. In fact, you can enable PiP with just one click.

Step 1: Open Firefox on your Windows PC from the Desktop, Taskbar, or Start Menu.

Step 2: Go to youtube.com and start playing the video you want from the home page, your history, or the watch later list.

Step 3: When the video is playing, hover your mouse over the video player. You'll see a small blue "Picture-in-Picture" button appear. Click this button to enable PiP mode instantly.

Step 4: To return the video to its original size in the browser tab, click the PiP icon again on the PiP window. To control playback, hover over the PiP window to access the "Pause" button. To close the PiP window, click the "X" button in the corner.