Why a normal YouTube tab goes behind your work
When you click another app, the operating system brings that app to the front and the browser window goes behind it. Chrome has no setting to keep a normal window on top. Only the special picture-in-picture window stays in front.
Option 1: picture-in-picture (free, built into Chrome)
Right-click the YouTube video twice and choose Picture in picture. The small floating window stays on top of every app. Details and the automatic mode are in YouTube picture-in-picture in Chrome.
Good for: a video in a corner or on a second screen. Limits: the browser limits the maximum size; few controls in the window.
Option 2: one click from the YouTube player
Youtube Pop Out Player adds a pop-out button to the YouTube player and a keyboard shortcut. One click floats the video in the same picture-in-picture window, on top of other apps; the same button brings it back. See how to pop out a YouTube video.
Good for: tutorials you follow step by step, lectures and streams you pop out every day.
Option 3: pin any window on top in Windows (PowerToys)
Microsoft PowerToys is a free set of utilities for Windows 10 and 11. Its Always On Top module pins any window in front of the others:
- Install PowerToys from the Microsoft Store or Microsoft's GitHub page.
- Open PowerToys → Always On Top and make sure it is enabled.
- Click the window you want to pin (for example a Chrome window with a YouTube video).
- Press Win+Ctrl+T. A coloured border shows that the window is pinned.
- Press Win+Ctrl+T again to unpin it.
This works for whole windows, so you can pin a full Chrome window, a notes app or a calculator, not only video.
Mac and Linux
- macOS has no built-in way to pin an arbitrary window on top. Picture-in-picture in Chrome or Safari is the reliable option (Youtube Pop Out Player opens it with one click); some third-party window utilities add a pin function.
- Linux desktops usually offer it in the window menu: on GNOME, press Alt+Space and choose Always on Top; KDE has More Actions → Keep Above Others.
Which option should I choose?
| Need | Best option |
|---|---|
| Video in a corner, nothing to install | Picture-in-picture |
| The same, one click from the YouTube player | Youtube Pop Out Player |
| A large video window, or any window, on Windows | PowerToys Always On Top |
| Mac | Picture-in-picture or Youtube Pop Out Player |