One of the standout new features of iOS 14 is picture-in-picture video via apps and web browsers such as Safari. Picture-in-picture should theoretically be available in any app, especially the YouTube app, which locks picture-in-picture behind the $11.99 monthly YouTube Premium subscription.

However, there is a way for iPhone users to get around this limitation. iOS14 allows picture-in-picture video to work as long as they use YouTube's mobile website rather than the app, even without a YouTube Premium subscription. iOS 14's web version of YouTube disabled picture-in-picture video a few days after its launch, but it was restored in the recent iOS 14.0.1 update.

If you have not yet used Picture-in-Picture video on iOS 14, you may not immediately know how to activate it. Here is how to start using YouTube's Picture-in-Picture for free on your iPhone through the mobile site.

1. First, if you have the YouTube application installed on your iPhone, remove it. Unfortunately, trying to launch a YouTube video from Safari will open a link to the YouTube app if it is on the device. The only way to bypass this reroute and access the mobile web version of YouTube is to not install the app in the first place.

2. Go to the YouTube website any way you like and launch your favorite video.

3. go to full screen mode for the video that is playing.

4. tap anywhere on the screen to bring up the video controls, then tap the picture-in-picture icon that pops up between the end icon and the zoom icon.

5. The video will now play in picture-in-picture format. From here, the video will continue to play even if you move to another screen or app on your iPhone.

6. from here, you can swipe the playing video off the screen to listen to audio only, or swipe it back on the screen to continue watching.

7. When you are finished watching a video, tap the picture-in-picture window, then tap the X icon to close it, or tap the icon in the upper right corner to return to watching on the YouTube mobile website.

It is now quite likely that either Apple or Google will take steps to prevent users from abusing this workaround to obtain free YouTube picture-in-picture videos. Apple, on the other hand, is less sympathetic to Google's intentions and is likely to design Picture-in-Picture as a platform-wide feature. Let's use it while we can.