How to use Picture-in-Picture mode on YouTube videos in Chrome for desktop

One of my favorite features on chromeOS is the Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode that allows you to pop-out video players to increase your multitasking capabilities. You get a smaller player and can drag it around the screen to continue watching while you type or do something else.

However, anyone using Chrome for desktop may find that a PiP is not available by default, and the experience can seem disjointed if you’ve become accustomed to using it on your laptop. Today, I’m going to show you a very simple method for using Picture-in-Picture mode on YouTube for Chrome on Desktop so that you can continue to work while you enjoy what you’re watching visually.

First, pull up the YouTube video you’re hoping to watch. A good suggestion is our recently uploaded “Steam Gaming On A Chromebook Is Here” video. Once there, start playing the content and right-click with your mouse on the player’s space. You should receive the following contextual menu with options for looping the video, copying the video URL, embed information, and more.

Since there is no option for PiP present on the right-click menu, you’d be forgiven for not finding it. Looking at the bottom-right of the player shows a rectangle with a smaller rectangle inside of it, and you’d think that this would pop the player out and onto your desktop, but instead, it pops out into YouTube so you can continue browsing for other content instead. Minimizing the YouTube web app takes the smaller player with it, and you’re left with nothing on your desktop.

So, even though you right-clicked the video, I want you to do it again. Trust me, just move your mouse off of the existing contextual menu that popped up and right-click again. Instead of getting the same menu to appear, you’ll instead get Chrome’s built-in right-click menu, and on it, voilà! “Picture-in-Picture” will be listed there. Click it, and your YouTube web app will automatically minimize itself, and you’ll be left with an awesome mini-player at the bottom-right of your desktop!

This requires no Chrome extension, and chromeOS users will feel right at home on their Windows desktop. I hope this was helpful, and let me know in the comments if you would like any other tutorials on mimicking features from your Chromebook on a Microsoft Windows device.

I just want the steps!

1. Open YouTube on Chrome for Windows
2. Click a video
3. Right-click the video player
4. Move your mouse off of the context menu and right-click again
5. Select “Picture in picture”
6. Enjoy!