YouTube's picture-in-picture goes global for free, but there's still an annoying catch

One of the most compelling reasons to get YouTube's Premium subscriptions is picture-in-picture; that is, the ability to continue watching a video in a smaller, floating window, while you interact with other apps on your phone.

In the U.S., picture-in-picture isn't limited to Premium users; Premium Lite users, as well as users who aren't paying any sort of YouTube subscription, get it too. Now, YouTube has announced it will be rolling out this feature to all users globally, on both iOS and Android.

There is a pretty big caveat, though: This will only work on longform, non-music videos for Premium Lite and Free users. Only YouTube Premium subscribers can get picture-in-picture for music content. Better than nothing, eh?

It's worth noting that there's no change here for users in the U.S.; the only change here is for international users.

How to get picture-in-picture on your phone for free:

1. While watching a longform, non-music video on an iPhone, swipe up as if you're closing the app. The video will stay floating, and you can move it around, as well as access other apps while it plays on top of them. On Android, you may have to touch the home button instead of swiping, depending on your phone model.

2. If the above doesn't work, you may need to enable picture-in-picture in your settings. On the iPhone, go to Settings - General - Picture-in-Picture and enable "Start PiP Automatically." Conversely, if you don't want the picture-in-picture window to pop up every time you close the YouTube app, disable this feature. On Android, you may have to go to Settings - Apps - Special app access and then toggle "Picture-in-picture" for the YouTube app.

If this isn't working for you, have patience. YouTube said the feature will be rolling out globally "in the coming months."