Something you’ve probably realized is that apps and desktop sites are not the same thing. You’d probably notice it right away if you’ve been using a banking app on your phone versus logging into your account on a computer. But something you probably use all the time but might not realize is completely different between a mobile app and a desktop site is YouTube. YouTube has a much better desktop site than the mobile version. This is because more features can be used on the desktop site.
Just because you have the mobile app doesn’t mean you have to use it. You can easily visit the YouTube desktop website from your desktop and mobile devices using Chrome or any other browser. If you’re wondering why you should use the desktop site for YouTube, we’ll show you how easy it is and what special features you’ll enjoy.
View YouTube desktop site on Android devices
First of all, most of the time when you try to watch a video, you will probably be redirected to the app. However, you can open a browser and watch it on the YouTube desktop site.
Using Google Chrome Click on your Google Chrome app Image source: Toby Gray for BGR Type “YouTube.com” in the address bar. Image Source: Toby Gray for BGR After entering the URL, click Enter. In the top right corner, the menu icon has three vertical dots. Click on it and select “Desktop Site” from the drop-down menu.
Note: The exact same steps can be used for Opera. You can also use Mozilla Firefox and follow the same steps to get to the desktop YouTube site. The only difference is that the menu icon is in the bottom right instead of the top right. You select that and the drop down menu provides the desktop site.
View YouTube desktop site on iOS devices
Visiting the YouTube desktop site on an iPhone or iPad is slightly different than on an Android device. Here’s how to do it with different browsers.
Using Chrome Open the Chrome browser and type “YouTube.com” into the browser. Chrome on iOS Image source: Chris Hachey for BGR In the top right corner is the share button. Click on it. YouTube share button Image source: Chris Hachey for BGR A new menu will appear and if you scroll down you will see “Request Desktop Site”. Select that and the browser will switch to the YouTube desktop site. YouTube on Chrome Image Source: Chris Hachey for BGR
Note: This process is the same for Firefox, but the Share button is a three-dot menu button instead.
With Safari
If you use Safari, the Apple browser that comes with your
Open the Safari browser and type “YouTube.com” in the address bar. If you have the app on your phone, you will be prompted to open the mobile app. Ignore that and tap the “AA” icon in the top-left corner of the address bar. Text bar on YouTube Image source: Chris Hachey for BGR The pull-down menu includes “Request desktop website” as one of the options. Click on it and it will appear. Request desktop site from YouTube Image source: Chris Hachey for BGR
