How to Watch YouTube as Wallpaper on Apple Devices

To enjoy the best YouTube experience on your Apple device, there is an absolutely essential Vinegar extension. Presentation.

Using YouTube on mobile has never been a very pleasant experience. Unlike the experience offered on desktop, where you can run a video as your wallpaper, YouTube on mobile is limited to the current app or site. And if you want all the features, like no ads, you’ll have to pay for a YouTube Premium subscription regardless of device. Unless you choose another solution.

Vinegar solves most of your YouTube problems

Vinegar (€1.99 on the App Store) is a YouTube add-on you think you don’t need. Developed by And a Dinosaur, it works on iPhone, iPad and Mac and eliminates most of the inconveniences that come with using the service.

Probably the most immediate and visible feature that Vinegar offers is the removal of embedded ads. While they are a vital source of income for many Youtube creators, they are also frustrating, invasive, and, more often than not, targeted. And while you’ll likely get rid of ads with a dedicated ad blocker, Vinegar offers this feature natively.

Vinegar also prevents YouTube from tracking your reading and searching activities. Because yes, YouTube also knows when you pause, when you start playing, etc.

This extension also allows you to restore picture-in-picture mode on your mobile phone. The service restricts this feature on iOS to YouTube Premium subscribers only, even if you’re using YouTube on the web in Safari. Vinegar gets around this limitation by allowing you to keep the YouTube window visible while you browse other apps.

Best of all, Vinegar lets you enjoy audio only, allowing you to play playback even when Safari is in the background. This means you can finally listen to YouTube music while doing something else. The features offered by Vinegar are almost identical to those of YouTube on a computer.

While it’s possible to manipulate Safari tabs and continue playing the video, you can’t switch to another app or lock your phone and expect the video to continue playing. You will need to select “Audio”to the right of the video quality options for this to work.

Are there any downsides to using Vinegar for YouTube?

Yes. At the moment there is only one. Unfortunately, Vinegar does not support 4K and HDR. Depending on your device, this may not be an issue as a non-4K device is limited to 1080p on YouTube anyway. However, for a compatible Mac, iPhone, or iPad, this is a shame. I hope the dinosaur will be able to implement this feature in the future.

How to get Vinegar for iPhone, iPad or Mac

You can download Vinegar for Mac, iPhone or iPad from the respective store for €1.99 (one-time purchase). That’s one-sixth of a monthly YouTube Premium subscription, which is fair enough.