Picture-in-picture (PiP) functionality is a boon for individuals juggling multiple tasks. While there are important responsibilities to attend to, the allure of watching videos can be hard to resist. Why not make the most of both worlds and tackle to-dos with a floating video player occupying a corner of your screen?

However, PiP can be less user-friendly on desktops. Activation often requires learning a specific keyboard shortcut or executing a double right-click to unveil a hidden menu. Unless a straightforward shortcut is provided by the browser or application, getting PiP up and running can be more challenging than it should be. This contrasts sharply with mobile devices, where merely exiting an app launches the video in a PiP window automatically.

This automated function aligns perfectly with the PiP purpose—typically, users want to keep watching while navigating away from the source, so it makes sense for the PiP window to open automatically as soon as another window or app is selected. Expanding this feature across more platforms would undoubtedly enhance usability.

Chromium browsers are jumping on this trend. According to XDA Developers, Google is in the process of developing an automatic PiP feature for Chrome. This would enable PiP to activate automatically when switching away from a YouTube tab. Although Google made the announcement back in February, the functionality is only now entering testing phases. Researcher Leopeva64 brought this to light, sharing the news on X recently.

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Activating Auto-Open PiP for YouTube

This feature isn’t fully deployed yet—it’s currently available for testing in Chrome’s beta iteration, Chrome Canary—but getting a preview is possible. Here’s a step-by-step guide to potentially access PiP right now:

First, ensure you have Chrome Canary installed. You can download it from this link. Next, navigate to chrome://flags and search for “picture-in-picture.” You’ll find two pertinent settings: Browser initiated automatic picture in picture and Auto picture in picture for video playback. Enabling both might activate the feature, although it hasn’t functioned for all users yet.

Next, visit YouTube and click on the settings icon next to the URL bar. Select Site settings, then scroll down to the Automatic picture-in-picture option. The default should be set to Ask, prompting permission for each session. Altering this to Allow will enable PiP automatically.

After that, begin playing a video and switch tabs. If the feature is functioning on your end, a PiP window should emerge once you leave the YouTube tab. If your settings are configured to Ask, you’ll need to grant permission for the window to appear.

This capability may not appeal to everyone. If it doesn’t suit your needs, it’s simple to turn off from the same settings page by selecting Block.