A couple of days ago, Microsoft Edge’s latest Canary version added a new and very intriguing feature: video background playback. While the feature seemed cool and innocuous at first glance, we discovered that it could be used to play YouTube videos in the background without paying for a Premium subscription. Better yet, Microsoft Edge also has a built-in ad-blocker that can remove ads while watching YouTube. A plus B equal the two most useful perks from a YouTube Premium subscription can now be had for free with Edge.
This all sounds too good to be true, so I immediately put it to the test to see how well it works. It actually does. I played several videos without encountering a single ad, and switched back and forth between tabs and apps, without breaking a sweat; the video kept going in the background. I even turned my screen off, and the video continued playing.