LOOPRUSH

How to

Listen to Instagram Reels with the screen off

Lock your phone and the reel stops. Instagram has no screen-off or audio-only mode, on iPhone or Android, and no setting adds one.

LoopRush takes the sound out of the reel: paste the link, the audio is saved into a stack, and the stack plays like a playlist. Lock the screen and it keeps going, with play, pause and skip on the lock screen and your headphones.

If you were looking to turn Reels off — to hide them from your feed — that is an Instagram setting question, not this page.

Works with TikTok links and Instagram Reels links. LoopRush plays the sound on its own; the video is one tap away when you want it.

Why a reel dies with the display

Playing with the screen off is not the same as playing in another app. The phone suspends video, dims the display, and expects whatever is still making noise to behave like a music player: hold a real audio session, publish a title and artwork to the lock screen, and answer the play, pause and skip buttons there and on your headphones.

Instagram never publishes that session for a reel, so the audio goes with the display. LoopRush turns the reel's sound into a plain audio track and plays it through the browser's media session — the same machinery Spotify and podcast apps use — which is why the lock screen shows controls and a Bluetooth headset can skip.

Set it up once, in about fifteen seconds

  1. In Instagram, open the reel, tap the share arrow, then Copy link.
  2. Open looprush2.com in Safari or Chrome and paste the link.
  3. The sound extracts and starts playing as audio.
  4. Lock the phone. The lock screen shows the reel's title and cover with play, pause and skip.
  5. Paste more reels into the same stack and they play in order, with repeat and shuffle if you want them.

What the lock screen shows

On iPhone: the reel's title and cover art on the lock screen and in Control Centre, with play, pause, previous and next; AirPods and wired-headphone buttons work. On Android: the same in the notification shade and on the lock screen, with headset buttons mapped to play, pause, next and previous.

Skipping moves through your stack. Repeat one holds a single reel's sound; repeat all cycles the stack. Both keep working with the screen dark.

Honest limits

It needs a public reel. Private accounts, deleted posts and stories cannot be read. It is not a downloader: the sound plays from LoopRush and nothing is written to your phone's files.

Sounds saved as a guest live in that browser. Signing in — Google, or a link sent to your email — keeps them on every device.

Questions

How do I listen to Instagram Reels with the screen off?
Copy the reel's link, paste it into looprush2.com, and lock the phone once it plays. The sound continues with controls on the lock screen. Instagram itself cannot do this.
Can Instagram play reels with the screen off?
No. Reels pause when the display locks on both iPhone and Android, and there is no audio-only or background setting.
Is this how I turn Reels off in Instagram?
No. Hiding Reels from your feed is an Instagram setting. This page is about listening to a reel's sound with the screen off.
Do the lock-screen and headphone buttons work?
Yes. Play, pause and skip work from the lock screen, Control Centre or the notification shade, and from wired and Bluetooth headphones.
Does it work for TikTok too?
Yes. TikTok links work the same way; there is a separate guide for TikTok with the screen off.
Do I need an account?
No. An account only keeps your stacks across devices.

Also in this guide

Sounds people saved

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