diff --git a/Yattee/Services/Player/MPVBackend.swift b/Yattee/Services/Player/MPVBackend.swift
index a2c118dc..f89304f3 100644
--- a/Yattee/Services/Player/MPVBackend.swift
+++ b/Yattee/Services/Player/MPVBackend.swift
@@ -998,7 +998,7 @@ final class MPVBackend: PlayerBackend {
 
     // MARK: - Background Playback
 
-    func handleScenePhase(_ phase: ScenePhase, backgroundEnabled: Bool, isPiPActive: Bool) {
+    func handleScenePhase(_ phase: ScenePhase, isPiPActive: Bool) {
         #if os(iOS)
         let pipActive = self.isPiPActive || isPiPActive
         #else
@@ -1008,8 +1008,8 @@ final class MPVBackend: PlayerBackend {
         MPVLogging.logAppLifecycle("handleScenePhase(\(phase))",
             isPiPActive: pipActive, isRendering: nil)
 
-        guard backgroundEnabled, !pipActive else {
-            MPVLogging.log("handleScenePhase: skipping (bgEnabled:\(backgroundEnabled) pip:\(pipActive))")
+        guard !pipActive else {
+            MPVLogging.log("handleScenePhase: skipping (pip:\(pipActive))")
             return
         }
 
diff --git a/Yattee/Services/Player/PlayerBackend.swift b/Yattee/Services/Player/PlayerBackend.swift
index 98c8b6c4..ac27e201 100644
--- a/Yattee/Services/Player/PlayerBackend.swift
+++ b/Yattee/Services/Player/PlayerBackend.swift
@@ -249,11 +249,12 @@ protocol PlayerBackend: AnyObject {
     // MARK: - Background Playback
 
     /// Handle scene phase changes for background playback.
+    /// Backends should pause rendering while the app is in the background;
+    /// whether playback itself continues is decided by PlayerService.
     /// - Parameters:
     ///   - phase: The new scene phase
-    ///   - backgroundEnabled: Whether background playback is enabled in settings
     ///   - isPiPActive: Whether Picture-in-Picture is currently active
-    func handleScenePhase(_ phase: ScenePhase, backgroundEnabled: Bool, isPiPActive: Bool)
+    func handleScenePhase(_ phase: ScenePhase, isPiPActive: Bool)
 }
 
 // MARK: - Default Implementations
@@ -278,7 +279,7 @@ extension PlayerBackend {
     }
 
     /// Default implementation does nothing.
-    func handleScenePhase(_ phase: ScenePhase, backgroundEnabled: Bool, isPiPActive: Bool) {
+    func handleScenePhase(_ phase: ScenePhase, isPiPActive: Bool) {
         // No-op by default
     }
 }
diff --git a/Yattee/Services/Player/PlayerService.swift b/Yattee/Services/Player/PlayerService.swift
index caee4384..84b67ec3 100644
--- a/Yattee/Services/Player/PlayerService.swift
+++ b/Yattee/Services/Player/PlayerService.swift
@@ -681,14 +681,23 @@ final class PlayerService {
         }
         #endif
 
-        let backgroundEnabled = settingsManager?.backgroundPlaybackEnabled ?? true
         #if os(iOS)
         let isPiPActive = (currentBackend as? MPVBackend)?.isPiPActive ?? false
         #else
         let isPiPActive = false
         #endif
 
-        #if os(tvOS)
+        // With background playback disabled, pause when the app leaves the
+        // foreground — the audio background mode would otherwise keep mpv
+        // playing. Not applicable on macOS, where apps are never suspended.
+        #if os(iOS)
+        let backgroundEnabled = settingsManager?.backgroundPlaybackEnabled ?? true
+        if phase == .background, !backgroundEnabled, !isPiPActive, state.playbackState == .playing {
+            LoggingService.shared.debug("PlayerService: pausing playback (phase=\(phase), backgroundPlaybackEnabled=false)", category: .player)
+            pause()
+        }
+        #elseif os(tvOS)
+        let backgroundEnabled = settingsManager?.backgroundPlaybackEnabled ?? true
         LoggingService.shared.debug("PlayerService[tvOS-bg]: phase=\(phase) bgEnabled=\(backgroundEnabled) playbackState=\(state.playbackState)", category: .player)
         if (phase == .background || phase == .inactive), !backgroundEnabled, state.playbackState == .playing {
             LoggingService.shared.debug("PlayerService[tvOS-bg]: pausing playback (phase=\(phase), backgroundPlaybackEnabled=false)", category: .player)
@@ -696,7 +705,7 @@ final class PlayerService {
         }
         #endif
 
-        currentBackend?.handleScenePhase(phase, backgroundEnabled: backgroundEnabled, isPiPActive: isPiPActive)
+        currentBackend?.handleScenePhase(phase, isPiPActive: isPiPActive)
     }
 
     /// Plays the next video in queue, respecting the current queue mode.
@@ -2483,12 +2492,11 @@ final class PlayerService {
         LoggingService.shared.debug("PlayerService: playerSheetDidAppear - backend=\(backendType), playbackState=\(playbackState)", category: .player)
 
         // Re-enable visual tracks and reattach layer when sheet appears
-        let backgroundEnabled = settingsManager?.backgroundPlaybackEnabled ?? true
         let isPiPActive = (currentBackend as? MPVBackend)?.isPiPActive ?? false
-        LoggingService.shared.debug("PlayerService: sheetDidAppear checks - backgroundEnabled=\(backgroundEnabled), isPiPActive=\(isPiPActive)", category: .player)
+        LoggingService.shared.debug("PlayerService: sheetDidAppear checks - isPiPActive=\(isPiPActive)", category: .player)
 
-        guard backgroundEnabled && !isPiPActive else {
-            LoggingService.shared.debug("PlayerService: skipping visibility handling (backgroundEnabled=\(backgroundEnabled), isPiPActive=\(isPiPActive))", category: .player)
+        guard !isPiPActive else {
+            LoggingService.shared.debug("PlayerService: skipping visibility handling (isPiPActive=\(isPiPActive))", category: .player)
             return
         }
 
@@ -2505,12 +2513,11 @@ final class PlayerService {
         LoggingService.shared.debug("PlayerService: playerSheetDidDisappear - backend=\(backendType), playbackState=\(playbackState)", category: .player)
 
         // Disable visual tracks and detach layer for background audio playback
-        let backgroundEnabled = settingsManager?.backgroundPlaybackEnabled ?? true
         let mpvPiPActive = (currentBackend as? MPVBackend)?.isPiPActive ?? false
-        LoggingService.shared.debug("PlayerService: sheetDidDisappear checks - backgroundEnabled=\(backgroundEnabled), mpvPiPActive=\(mpvPiPActive)", category: .player)
+        LoggingService.shared.debug("PlayerService: sheetDidDisappear checks - mpvPiPActive=\(mpvPiPActive)", category: .player)
 
-        guard backgroundEnabled && !mpvPiPActive else {
-            LoggingService.shared.debug("PlayerService: skipping visibility handling on disappear (backgroundEnabled=\(backgroundEnabled), mpvPiP=\(mpvPiPActive))", category: .player)
+        guard !mpvPiPActive else {
+            LoggingService.shared.debug("PlayerService: skipping visibility handling on disappear (mpvPiP=\(mpvPiPActive))", category: .player)
             return
         }
 
diff --git a/Yattee/Views/Player/MPVVideoView.swift b/Yattee/Views/Player/MPVVideoView.swift
index 6c326c54..6bea515a 100644
--- a/Yattee/Views/Player/MPVVideoView.swift
+++ b/Yattee/Views/Player/MPVVideoView.swift
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ struct MPVVideoView: View {
             #if os(iOS) || os(macOS)
             // Resume the MPV display link when the expanded video view appears.
             // MiniPlayerView pauses rendering when its video preview hides during expand;
-            // PlayerService.playerSheetDidAppear is gated behind background playback, so it
+            // PlayerService.playerSheetDidAppear skips resuming while PiP is active, so it
             // can't be relied on to resume. On macOS this also recovers the sheet re-open
             // black screen when the shared render view reappears without a window re-parent.
             backend.resumeRendering()
diff --git a/Yattee/Views/Settings/PlaybackSettingsView.swift b/Yattee/Views/Settings/PlaybackSettingsView.swift
index 2420fabb..ea314acc 100644
--- a/Yattee/Views/Settings/PlaybackSettingsView.swift
+++ b/Yattee/Views/Settings/PlaybackSettingsView.swift
@@ -270,10 +270,14 @@ private struct BehaviorSection: View {
                 }
             }
 
+            #if !os(macOS)
+            // macOS never suspends apps, so playback always continues in the
+            // background — the toggle would have no effect there
             Toggle(
                 String(localized: "settings.playback.backgroundPlayback"),
                 isOn: $settings.backgroundPlaybackEnabled
             )
+            #endif
 
             #if os(tvOS)
             Toggle(