Safari on Mac has supported picture-in-picture for years — pop a video into a small floating window and it stays on top while you work in other apps. But try it on YouTube and the option seems to be missing. The reason: YouTube replaces Safari’s standard right-click menu with its own custom menu, which hides the Picture in Picture entry. Two simple workarounds bring it back, no extensions or apps needed.
Enable picture-in-picture for YouTube in Safari step by step
Method 1 — right-click the video twice
- Start playing the YouTube video you want to watch.
- Right-click (or Control-click) the video once. YouTube’s own custom menu appears — ignore it.
- Right-click a second time, without moving the cursor. This time Safari’s standard video menu appears, offering “Picture in Picture” (labeled “Enter Picture in Picture” on some macOS versions).
- Choose it. The video pops into a floating window you can drag anywhere on screen and resize.
Method 2 — from the tab’s speaker icon
- While the video plays, look at the tab in Safari’s toolbar (address bar area).
- Right-click the speaker/volume indicator on the playing tab.
- Its context menu directly offers “Picture in Picture” — select it and the video floats free.
If it still doesn’t work
Make sure the video is actually playing — picture-in-picture needs active playback. If the double right-click opens YouTube’s menu both times, move the cursor slightly between clicks; the second click must land on the video itself. Some embedded players on third-party sites behave differently — for those, try the speaker-icon method. For the official documentation, see Apple Support’s Safari guide for Mac; 9to5Mac also covers Safari’s video features.
More Apple tips: learn how to enable face lighting during video calls on Mac and stop iPhone from auto-switching audio output.
Frequently asked questions
Does the double right-click trick work on sites other than YouTube?
Yes — it works on most sites that override Safari’s context menu. On many sites the Picture in Picture option appears on the first right-click; YouTube is the special case that needs two.
Why doesn’t YouTube’s own player offer picture-in-picture?
YouTube’s custom player UI simply doesn’t include the option. That’s why you have to reach Safari’s native menu — via the second click or the tab’s speaker icon — where the system PiP entry lives.
Conclusion
YouTube hides Safari’s Picture in Picture menu, but it can’t remove it. Right-click twice, or right-click the tab’s speaker icon, and any YouTube video becomes a floating window — no apps, no extensions, just Safari doing what it does best.
