Most Android browsers, including Chrome, have not kept up with their competitors' offerings. But one key area is often neglected: media playback.

Plenty of times, I've been watching a video or listening to a podcast in the browser, and the media playback would stop when I switched apps.

Thankfully, I found a hidden setting in the Brave browser that solved the problem.

Brave browser lets me consume media the way I want to

A neat feature I wish other browsers had

If you've been using Chrome and found it lacking many features that other browsers offer, you're not alone.

My primary reason for switching to the Aloha browser and Brave was ad blocking.

But I recently found a hidden setting on Brave that made it my main browser for consuming media.

I spend a lot of time watching YouTube content, Anime, and video podcasts on my phone, but I have always found the media player in browsers lacking.

But after looking for some hidden features in Brave, I found that I can use it to watch videos offline, manage my own playlist, and run it in the background.

Most of these features require a YouTube Premium subscription, but Brave removed the need to pay for these features.

While I love Brave for what it offers, I never thought it would become one of my main media players today.

If you think Brave's media playback capabilities are similar to Chrome, you couldn't be more wrong.

With Brave's background video/audio playback working in tandem with its Playlist feature, I don't need the YouTube app on my phone.

Brave also aggressively blocks ads on YouTube, giving me another reason to discontinue my Premium subscription.

I can curate a playlist in the browser and play content offline and in the background.

This lets me continue browsing in different tabs or switch to another app without worrying about playback pausing.

I don't even have to lock my phone, as Brave offers lock-screen controls that I can use when I'm out and about.

Since videos download in the background when queued, queue videos to a playlist in Brave when connected to Wi-Fi to conserve battery.

Brave has become the best alternative to YouTube Premium, which also happens to be a browser with capable media playback options.

The playlist and offline media playback do not work perfectly. It sometimes struggles to work with DRM-protected media.

Google also periodically updates YouTube to mess with Brave's ad blocking and background media playback, so don't expect it to work all the time.

Many times, it feels like a cat-and-mouse chase, with both companies trying to outdo each other.

Brave should advertise media features front and center

It really doesn't need to be hidden

Brave doesn't turn on the playlist and background playback features by default on Android, which it should ideally advertise the moment you install the browser.

But if you're like me and weren't aware of this feature, turning it on is straightforward.

You can start using background playback by going to Settings > Media > Background Play. However, unlocking the playlist feature requires a few additional steps.

To unlock playlists and offline media playback, you need to follow these steps:

- Open Brave's address bar.

                                    Type **brave://flags**and tap**Enter**.

•                                 In the Flags menu's search bar, type **Playlist**.
  

• Turn on the Playlist option.

When turned on, you can curate your own playlist from videos and audio files on different websites.

When you have media playing on YouTube or another website, tap the musical note icon in the lower-left corner.

You can now add media to a playlist. Repeat this process for two to three videos, and you can enjoy your media offline with background playback.

To remove or manage your ongoing playlist, select the Playlist option from the main menu (three dots in the lower-left corner).

I started using Brave's media player almost exclusively for YouTube content, especially when I'm listening to music.

I use it for my daily commute, workouts, or when I'm busy writing. I even installed Brave on my Android DAP to offload the YouTube app to free up storage.

While background playback and offline media consumption in a browser are convenient, I benefited in other ways.

I also reduced battery drain because Brave aggressively blocks ads and trackers on websites with heavy pages and obtrusive advertising.

After weighing all the features, Brave has officially become my one-stop app for browsing, blocking ads, and enjoying all types of media.

Brave's focus on media playback keeps me interested

If it weren't for Brave's media playback options, I would still be switching apps for multitasking and paying for a YouTube Premium subscription.

It really puts into perspective how far Chrome has fallen behind and how much it has to catch up with. The media playback features alone are enough for me to keep using Brave daily.

The convenience of browsing the web and enjoying media in the same app is hard to pass up and is a feature every browser should incorporate in some way.