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YouTube Lite Gains Premium Features
24 Feb
Summary
- YouTube Premium Lite now includes background playback.
- Subscribers can now download videos for offline viewing.
- Music videos remain excluded from ad-free Premium Lite viewing.
YouTube is expanding the features available to its Premium Lite subscribers. As of recently, the Premium Lite plan, introduced in March 2025 at $8 a month in the US, now includes Background Play and Download capabilities. These features were previously exclusive to the higher-tier YouTube Premium subscription.
This update allows Lite users worldwide to watch videos offline and stream content in the background, even when using other applications or when their device screen is locked. YouTube announced these changes via a blog post, stating they were implemented in response to user feedback.
While Premium Lite offers an ad-free experience for a broad range of content, including gaming, beauty, and podcasts, it notably excludes music videos from this benefit. Users will continue to encounter ads during music content and on YouTube Shorts. The addition of these sought-after features may encourage more users to subscribe to YouTube's paid services.
