This is the audio version, it just happens to include optional video as well. If for some weird reason you're still actually watching things directly on youtube where among other heinous shit, it refuses to let you keep playing the audio if the video isn't on top/focused, then simply don't watch it on youtube.

See all those little links that HexReplyBot provides whenever someone posts a youtube vid? Those are all links to the same video but not on youtube. When watching the video from those links, they don't require you to have the video on top, just play the video and do whatever else you would normally do when not looking at video, and the audio still plays. They also automatically remove the ads for you if you don't already have a good adblocker.

It does unfortunately need to be said that HexReplyBot is badly out of date and the bottom two links (piped and artemislena) probably won't work. But the inv.nadeko.net one nearly always will, and yewtu.be seems to be working again too. (Whoever maintains @HexReplyBot@hexbear.net I do wish you'd keep your bot up to date with the working frontends. Piped has been broken for months, close to a year maybe? I don't know, but too long to still be listed, anyway. The bot is great and helpful, and I appreciate it so I don't mean to nag, but in order to actually be helpful, it's gotta present links that work).

[–] JohnBrownsBawdy@hexbear.net 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Thanks for the detailed reply and I should have provided context. I drive a lot and for various reasons (mostly financial but also bc of cell signal strength) need to download whatever I am going to listen to rather than stream it. I don’t have regular access to a computer where I can extract audio from yt but I bet one of the mirror sites may 😃

Edit: I just got a phone that runs graphemeos so maybe I can find an android app that could rip the audio? Happen to know of one?