As it stands now, a paid YouTube Premium subscription is required to unlock this capability on mobile without running into significant friction. With this in mind, it's no surprise to see Google plug what has become an 'if you know, you know' screen-off playback loophole within the Android world. Of course, even without this workaround, other methods are still available for listening to videos with a screen off while forgoing YouTube Premium. Subscribe to the newsletter for YouTube mobile fixes Make smarter choices by subscribing to the newsletter: coverage of Google blocking screen-off YouTube playback on Android browsers, tested workaround options, and clear comparisons of alternatives so you can decide what to use. For the time being, at least I can continue to emulate parts of the YouTube Premium experience on PC via some clever free web browser extensions.