How to use picture-in-picture in Chrome on Mac: steps, settings and fixes

What picture-in-picture does in Chrome

Picture-in-picture moves a video out of its tab and into a small floating window. The window stays on top of your other apps. You can read email, write notes, or check a spreadsheet while the clip keeps playing. Google's Chrome Help article on media controls describes the same flow, so the steps in this guide follow Google's wording first.

Before you start

You need Google Chrome on a Mac, a video playing in a Chrome tab, and a site that allows the feature. Picture-in-picture does not work on every page or every video. The site decides whether the option appears at all. Protected video can also block the feature, so a missing option is not always a bug in your setup.

• Google Chrome installed on your Mac
• A video playing in a Chrome tab
• A site that allows picture-in-picture for that video
• A Chrome version that matches the menus described in this guide

Check your Chrome version on Mac

Google's Help article on updating Chrome gives the path. Click More at the top right of the Chrome window. Choose Help, then About Google Chrome. The version number appears under the Google Chrome heading. If an update is waiting, select Relaunch to apply it.

Chrome updates about every four weeks, according to Google's Chrome page. If your menus look different from the steps here, update first and then compare again. Google's media controls help page does not list a version number for this feature, so this guide does not name one either.

Turn on picture-in-picture from the Media control icon

This is the method Google documents. Start a video in a Chrome tab and let it play. Look at the top right of the toolbar and select the Media control icon. Then select Enter picture-in-picture. The video moves into a floating window over your other apps.

If the icon does not appear, the page may not have a video that is actively playing. Pause the video, press play again, and look once more. Most missing icons come from the page, not from Chrome.

Move the floating window and keep it running

Drag the floating window to move it. Google's help article confirms that dragging is how you reposition it. Keep the original tab open. Closing that tab ends the floating window, so the video stops floating with it.

Chrome also allows only one floating window at a time. If you start a second video, the new one replaces the first. Plan for that when you want two clips visible, because Chrome will not hold both.

Choosing what to float

Some videos work better in a small window than others. A talking-head tutorial or a live stream with a clear subject reads well at a small size. A video full of small text, such as a slide deck with dense bullets, does not. Test the video once before you rely on it for a long session.

A practical example: you follow a cooking video in one tab and write a shopping list in another. Put the video into picture-in-picture, drag it to the corner you do not use, and type. Keep the video tab open so the clip keeps running while you work.

Let sites open picture-in-picture automatically

Some sites can open picture-in-picture on their own. You control that in Chrome settings, not on each page. Click More, then Settings. Choose Privacy and security, then Site settings. Open Additional permission settings and select Automatic picture-in-picture.

The setting has two choices. Sites can enter picture-in-picture automatically allows it. Don't allow sites to enter picture-in-picture automatically turns it off. When a site asks you directly, the prompt offers Allow this time, Allow on every visit, and Don't allow.

Picture-in-picture in Incognito

Automatic picture-in-picture is off by default in Incognito. A site in a private window will not float its video on its own there. The site prompt is the way to change that for one visit or for every visit.

If you need a private window first, the steps are in How to open an incognito window in Chrome on Mac. Once the window is open, the same settings apply, so check the site prompt before you expect a floating video.

Keyboard shortcuts: what is built in and what is not

Chrome has no built-in keyboard shortcut for picture-in-picture. Some third-party guides list Option+P (⌥P) for it on Mac. That shortcut comes from an extension, not from Chrome itself, so check the listing of whichever extension you install.

If you want a key combination, the Picture-in-Picture Shortcut extension adds one. Its developer is Corbin Davenport. Its default is Command+Period (⌘.), and it also adds a toolbar button. The listing shows version 1.3, last updated April 21, 2025. Review its settings before you rely on the key.

For the install steps, see How to install an extension in Chrome on Mac. Only install extensions you trust, and check which permissions they ask for before you add them.

The right-click method and other ways in

Some third-party guides say you can right-click a playing video and choose Picture in picture. Google's own help page does not document that option. Treat it as a fallback, and use the Media control icon when the right-click menu does not show it.

Extensions can also add a button to the toolbar. The pipextension guide lists that approach as one of the ways in, alongside the Media control icon and the right-click menu. The Mac steps in that guide match the Windows steps, so the same logic applies here.

When the option is missing or the window is black

Most of these problems come from the site, the video, or a Chrome setting. Work through the table from top to bottom. Each row names a likely cause and the first thing to try.

Netflix is a special case in search results. Some pages say it fails in Chrome. Google does not confirm that claim in its help pages, so test it with your own account before you count on the feature.

Common mistakes people make

• Closing the tab that holds the video. The floating window closes with it.
• Starting a second video and expecting both to float. Chrome keeps one floating window.
• Looking for automatic picture-in-picture in Incognito. It is off by default there.
• Searching for a built-in shortcut. Chrome has none, so check the extension listing first.
• Following an old guide's menu path. Update Chrome, then compare the menus with these steps.

What this guide does not confirm

This guide does not confirm a Mac-specific Chrome version for the picture-in-picture feature. The Chrome release blog did not mention picture-in-picture in the entries reviewed, so recent menu changes are unconfirmed. If a step does not match your screen, trust the menu you see and check Google's Chrome Help pages.

Some third-party guides carry different publication dates. Use them for ideas, and treat Google's help pages as the primary reference for menu names and paths.

Where to go next

If you share this Mac, you may want to clear browsing data after a session. How to clear browsing data in Chrome on Mac covers the steps. If you install extensions for picture-in-picture, the install guide covers pinning and fixes.