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Xiaomi's free YouTube background playback hack is getting shut down

Bad news for Xiaomi users: that trick to listen to YouTube with the screen off is going away.

Xiaomi is taking away a beloved trick that allows you to play YouTube videos in the background without paying for a premium subscription. Xiaomi announced on its Mi Fans Telegram channel that it is ditching a feature that used to let devices with MIUI and HyperOS play YouTube audio with the screen off, as reported by Android Authority. Then again, YouTube Premium is a cash cow for the search giant, and Xiaomi providing a workaround for a paid perk probably didn't go down well with Google.

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