Float Tube- Float Video Player

Review by eFreeware

If you like having a video or a song running in a corner of your screen while you answer messages, check a map or read something else, Float Tube is built for exactly that. It is a free Android app from the developer goyourfly that plays Tube videos and music inside a small floating window instead of taking over the whole display. The window sits above whatever else you have open, so the video keeps playing while you get on with something else on the same phone.

That is a narrow job, and the app does not pretend otherwise. It is not a general media library; it is a second-screen trick for one device. The install numbers suggest plenty of people want that trick: the app has passed 5,000,000 installs and holds a 4.4 average from 99,628 ratings. It has been on Google Play since January 2020 and was last updated in July 2026, so it is not a project that was abandoned after launch.

I would expect this to appeal most to people who multitask on a phone by necessity rather than by choice: someone following a recipe video while typing a shopping list, a student with a lecture running above their notes, or anyone who wants background sound with a picture attached. If you mostly watch video full screen and put the phone down, the floating window adds little.

A player that refuses to get out of the way

The floating window is the whole idea. The developer describes the app as letting you watch Tube videos and music in a window that floats above other applications, and the point of that is freedom: you can browse the web, reply to someone or move between apps without the video stopping or shrinking to a thumbnail you cannot see. The window is meant to stay on top, so it does not disappear behind the app you switch to.

Control is handled through the window itself. Tapping the center brings up a menu where you can reposition the player, change its size, minimize it, lock it in place or close it. Locking matters more than it sounds: a floating window you drag around by accident is worse than no window at all, so being able to pin it once it sits where you want is a sensible touch. Resizing lets you decide how much of the screen the video is allowed to occupy, from a small corner box to something closer to half the display.

The app also handles what plays next. You can let it move on to the following video automatically, or tap to start the next one yourself. For music this is the difference between a playlist that keeps going and one that stops every three minutes waiting for you. Recommendations based on what you have played before are part of the app, the usual way these players try to keep you watching without making you search.

The smaller features around the edges

Beyond the window itself, the app carries a handful of conveniences. There is a Find Music button, added in a recent update, for getting to audio rather than video. The same update brought fast forward and rewind controls, along with fixes for crashes, for an unresponsive play button, for auto play and for devices that could not play video at all. An update note also mentions UI optimization and an API update, which is the unglamorous maintenance work that keeps an app of this type functioning as the services it relies on change.

What matters is whether the window behaves, and the recent changelog suggests the developer has been spending time on exactly that.

The app plays Tube videos and music, but it is not a Tube client in the full sense. It is a viewing surface, and the recommendations are there to feed it.

What the app asks of you

Float Tube is free to download, and the developer says you can limit how often ads play. Ads are part of the deal, and the app gives you some say over their frequency rather than removing them. The app also offers in-app purchases.

The bigger requirement is that background playback is no longer supported, and the reason given is privacy policy. In practice that means the floating window is the mechanism, not an extra. If you are used to audio continuing after you leave the app or lock the screen, this app does not do that. The window has to be there, on top, for playback to make sense.

You also need a phone that can handle a second window over your other apps, and you need to be willing to grant whatever the floating window requires on your version of Android.

Getting the most out of a floating window

The practical advice here is mostly about restraint. A floating window over a small phone screen eats space, so it pays to size it once and then lock it. If you are reading or typing underneath, a small window near an edge is less disruptive than a large one in the middle, and the lock option stops you nudging it every time you reach for the screen.

For music, the automatic advance is the setting that makes the app feel like a player rather than a viewer. Let it move to the next track on its own and you can leave the window alone; keep it manual and you will be tapping the window constantly, which defeats the purpose of having it float. If you are watching something where you want to skip around, the fast forward and rewind controls added in the latest update are the ones to learn first.

It is also worth deciding early whether you want recommendations shaping what you see. They are drawn from your playback history, which is convenient if you use the app for the same kind of content and less so if you want to pick everything yourself. Given that ads are present, using the ad frequency limit is a reasonable first stop after installing.

A focused tool for people who watch while they do something else

Float Tube does one thing and does it without ceremony: it puts Tube video and music in a window that stays above your other apps, and gives you enough control over that window to keep it from becoming a nuisance. The move, resize, minimize, lock and close options cover the basics, the automatic next-video behavior suits music, and the recent update added fast forward and rewind along with a batch of fixes. A 4.4 average from a large number of ratings suggests the approach works for a lot of people.

Background playback is no longer supported because of privacy policy, so the floating window is the only way this app plays anything.

I would recommend it to anyone whose phone doubles as a television while they do something else on the same screen, and who can live with the window being visible at all times. This app suits people who want a floating window that stays on top of other apps while they watch, with playback tied to the app being open.

What's new in version 1.9.3

Fix Crash Update Api Optimize UI Support fast forward/rewind Fix some devices can't play video Fix auto play Fix play button can’t click bug Fix ANR Add Find Music Button