Two Xposed Modules for Better YouTube on Android

Time and again we have talked about apps for YouTube with which you can listen to music even while the app is not running in the foreground. The only problem was, these were third-party apps which stream your playlist from YouTube as audio and used to play in the background even when the app was minimized. These apps were removed from the Play Store due to licensing (and non-compliance) issues and thus none of them even made it for more than a few weeks.

Today I am going to share two Xposed Framework modules you can install on your Android device and get features like background playback and video without ads, right on the official YouTube app. As Xposed Modules directly tweak the system files, the changes are made directly to the apps themselves. Also, as these apps are not hosted on the Play Store, but on a separate Xposed Repository, chances are that they will last longer.

So let’s talk about these two Xposed modules.

YouTube AdAway

Before I talk about the module, let me come clean. I am not against ads, in fact as a blogger myself, I can understand how important ads are to generate revenue. But what I am against is forced ads.  YouTube at times gives an ad before it starts playing a video. At times, there’s an option to skip the ad, but if it’s an exclusive (or viral) video, one is forced to watch a 30 seconds of ads before playing the actual content and it sort of, kills the mood.

Once YouTube AdAway is installed, it will block all ads in the app. The videos you wish to play will start playing instantly and no advertisements will be shown to you. People who are on a limited data connection will love to save on their bandwidth which was wasted by these ads. The app also hides the logo and recommended suggestions in the app, but the option can be disabled in the YouTube AdAway settings.

The app is frequently updated with the new versions of YouTube that are launched in the Play Store. So no more waiting before you can play your favorite music video on your Android phone.

YouTube Background Playback

As the name suggests, YouTube Background Playback enables background playback in the YouTube app. The app doesn’t have any user interface and thus there’s nothing about the app you can control. It’s a fairly simple app and you merely need to activate it in the Xposed Framework and reboot the device.

Queue a playlist in the YouTube app and press the Home button. The songs will continue to play in the background. To skip a song, you will have to open the YouTube app as there’s no lock screen or home screen shortcut provided by the app.

The app was last updated on June 30^th and the developer has taken some time off from its development. But it still works on the latest version of YouTube. I am not sure if the app helps in saving data while it’s playing songs in the background, but you can use any of these monitoring apps if you are curious to know.

Prefer YouTube on Chrome? Then check out this Chrome extension we had written about that will enhance your YouTube experience.

Conclusion

These were two Xposed Modules that make YouTube viewing on Android fun. There are high chances that these apps might not work after the next major update in the YouTube app. We might have to wait for the developers to fix the app for the upcoming versions. But if these apps are not working, leave a comment below and we will make sure we find a working alternative.