YouTube Adds Background Play, Offline Downloads to Premium Lite

YouTube announced on Tuesday that its Premium Lite subscription plan will soon include background playback and offline video downloads, addressing long-standing user requests for enhanced features in the budget-friendly tier.

The update brings two popular perks previously exclusive to the full YouTube Premium service to Lite subscribers. Background playback allows users to continue listening to video audio even after minimizing the app or locking their device screen. Offline downloads enable saving select videos for viewing without an internet connection. These additions apply to most content on the platform, such as videos in categories like gaming, fashion, beauty, cooking, news, and podcasts. However, they exclude YouTube Shorts and music videos, consistent with Lite's existing ad-free limitations for non-music content.

Priced at $7.99 per month in the United States, Premium Lite launched last year as a more affordable alternative to the $13.99 monthly full Premium plan. The tier removes ads from the majority of videos but retains them on music content, Shorts, and during browsing or searching. It does not include access to the ad-free YouTube Music service, which remains a...