Microsoft Edge to get Automatic Picture in Picture mode for Videos

Microsoft is currently experimenting with the ability to automatically minimize playing videos to Picture in Picture mode when you switch to other tabs or windows. This feature is being currently tested on select “Video sites”. To implement the “Auto PiP” feature, Edge added a new toggle to the “Picture in Picture control” Settings in Canary.

Microsoft Edge supports Picture in Picture mode, which allows you to pop out the video from tabs and float them on other applications or windows.

To activate PiP mode in Edge, simply play a video, hover over it with the mouse pointer, and click on the visible PiP icon.

Microsoft Edge to get Automatic Picture in Picture mode

Till now, user permission or a gesture is required to enable PiP mode for videos.

But, with the new setting toggle “Automatically turn on the picture in Picture for video sites” enabled by default,  “Videos played (in Edge) will automatically get minimized to picture in Picture mode when you switch tabs or windows. Supported on select domains”, the feature description says.

You can find the new Automatic Picture in Picture setting in Edge by navigating to ->

Settings> Cookies and site Permissions> All Permissions> Picture in Picture in Control > Automatically turn on Picture in Picture for Video sites.
Alternatively, you can control it by visiting this page ” edge://settings/content/PictureInPicture”

How Microsoft Edge’s Automatic Picture in Picture mode Works

While watching a video on YouTube or another video site, when you navigate away from the active video playing tab to other tabs or windows, Edge triggers the PiP mode for the video with the title on the window with the gear icon “auto opened video in Picture in Picture”

When you return to the original tab, the PiP window disappears.

The Auto PiP for Video Sites setting is enabled by default, you can disable it if you don’t want videos to minimize automatically.

How to enable or disable Automatic Picture in Picture Mode in Microsoft Edge

1. Launch Edge
2. Click on the menu and select Settings
3. Click on cookies and site Permissions
4. Click on “Picture in picture control”
5. Toggle on or off “Automatically turn on Picture in Picture for video sites”

   

    

We’ve been able to get the feature to work beautifully when we minimized the Edge browser that has video playing.

What’s your take on Edge’s new Auto PiP mode? Let us know in the comments below.

Final words: Microsoft Edge may soon automatically minimize playing videos on YouTube to the Picture in Picture window when you switch to other tabs or Windows in the browser. Microsoft has added an associated toggle to Picture in Picture control Settings.