Clicking a video in YouTube on Safari, Google, and Chrome keeps directing to the ‘iOS Video Player’

Question

Clicking a video in YouTube on Safari, Google, and Chrome keeps directing to the ‘iOS Video Player’

hello, recently i wanted to watch some videos on youtube, except the app isn’t working for me right now so i access youtube through 3 browsers: Safari, Google, and Chrome. even if i request desktop version (and watch youtube), it still redirects to the iOS video player. it’s really annoying and i want to see the subtitles and comments.

is there a way to turn this off? i tried to turn off PiP (picture in picture) and even auto-play video previews, but it seems it made it even worser.

i am on iOS 18.7.1

(please do not question what am i watching)

iPhone XR

Posted on Oct 27, 2025 9:09 AM

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Answer 1

John Galt

Level 10

155,228 points

Oct 27, 2025 2:24 PM in response to timcookno1fan

I know videos are not playing the way they used to, or that you expect, but I am not quite sure what the "iOS Video Player" is. Is it some kind of app? If it is, I can't find one that goes by that exact name. If you installed a separate app for playing videos embedded in websites, those websites may be redirecting to that app, and the solution would be to uninstall it.

In general each browser (and each website) implements its own way of playing video content. Are all the browser apps you use doing the same thing?

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