How to Disable the Google Chrome ‘Automatic Picture-in-Picture’ for Videos

What is Automatic Picture-in-Picture?

Google Chrome includes an “Automatic Picture-in-Picture” (PiP) feature. If you are watching a video on a supported website and you switch to a different tab or minimize the browser, Chrome will automatically pop the video out into a small, floating window that stays on top of your screen.

While useful if you want to keep an eye on a livestream while working, it can be incredibly intrusive if you just want to listen to the audio in the background without a floating window obstructing your other applications. You can disable this automatic pop-out behavior.

How to Disable Automatic PiP in Google Chrome

You can turn off this feature by modifying Chrome’s site permissions settings.

1. Open Google Chrome on your desktop.
2. Click the More (three dots) icon in the top-right corner and select Settings.
3. In the left-hand sidebar, click on Privacy and security.
4. Click on Site settings.
5. Scroll down to the “Additional permissions” section (you may need to expand it by clicking the arrow).
6. Click on Automatic Picture-in-Picture.
7. Change the default behavior from “Sites can automatically enter Picture-in-Picture” to Don’t allow sites to automatically enter Picture-in-Picture.

Alternative: Disable via Chrome Flags (Nuclear Option)

If the above setting does not stop certain aggressive websites from forcing a pop-out, you can disable the entire feature at the browser level:

1. Type chrome://flags into your address bar and press Enter.
2. Search for Picture-in-Picture.
3. Find the flag titled Global media controls Picture-in-Picture or similar (flags change frequently based on the Chrome version).
4. Set the flag to Disabled and relaunch the browser.

Now, when you switch tabs, the video will remain exactly where it is, playing quietly in the background without launching a floating window.