How to use picture-in-picture mode in Chrome 70
The Chrome web browser was starting to get some bad press after problems with extensions and then concerns over automatic sign-ins. Google listened to the complaints and promised to do something about it -- the result is Chrome 70.
But Chrome 70 is about more than just security and privacy changes. Google has also used this released to introduce a handful of new features. One of the best is picture-in-picture mode (PiP) which lets you keep watching a video in an overlay while you continue to browse other sites. Here's how to use it.
See also:
- Chrome 70 introduces more control over security features
- Google is trying to make Chrome extensions safer with new Chrome Web Store review process and permission controls
- After complaints, Google is going to give users more privacy controls in Chrome 70
- Users balk as Chrome 69 forcibly signs them into the browser
If you haven't done so already, you'll need to update your copy of Chrome to version 70. To do so, just hit the menu button and click Help > About Google Chrome. Chrome will check for updates and make sure you have the latest version installed.
With this done, you're ready to experience picture-in-picture.
Whether the feature works depends entirely on whether the owner of a site has enabled it, so you won't be able to use PiP with every video you encounter. It does work on YouTube, however, and this is a great place to test it out.
- Find a video and start it playing.
- Right click on the video window and the YouTube menu will appear.
- Right click again and the Chrome context menu will appear.
- Select the Picture in Picture option and you're good to go.
One thing to note: while you are free to browse other sites as the video plays in a pop-out, you must keep the original tab open.
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