I never knew about ProTube, but since YouTube disabled playing videos in background even on Safari/Chrome it's been very annoying. I used to love listening to long format shows/audio in the background. It's still possible, albeit likely not as good as the ProTube app seemed to be, you just have to load up Youtube and request for the desktop site. The site switches from mobile to desktop and becomes a real pain to use but hey I can play videos in the background again.
It's pretty lame of YouTube to do, especially since I can't even buy the paid service if I wanted to (I live in Canada).
YouTube can't stop me minimizing my browser window on the desktop and nobody is accusing them of violating any licenses for failing to prevent me from doing that, so why is mobile different? Just because they have the technical ability to tell the difference?
Youtube (in EU at least) has changed recently to make it much harder to play stuff in the background. (use case, full-album audio listening with the screen off) Ads now will interrupt the stream, and it won't continue till it's in the foreground, or there's a click.
Hold the phone. While there are types of copyrighted content uploaded to YouTube that definitely meet this (like copyrighted TV shows or music), there are an equal if not greater number of videos that are either unmonetized or that contain no content that's copyrighted. All users who upload videos comply with this:
> However, by submitting Content to YouTube, you hereby grant YouTube a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform the Content in connection with the Service and YouTube's (and its successors' and affiliates') business, including without limitation for promoting and redistributing part or all of the Service (and derivative works thereof) in any media formats and through any media channels.
"in any media formats and through any media channels" certainly covers audio only.
The feeling was just that they pulled the rug away on another feature and didn't provide a solution. Periscope is brutal for this too, I want to listen with the lock screen on in my pocket but that's not happening..
You can still (and will most likely be able forever) play audio in the background on Safari for iOS by intercepting the calls to the JS Page Visibility API with a scriptlet.
It's pretty lame of YouTube to do, especially since I can't even buy the paid service if I wanted to (I live in Canada).