Here is the complete guide on how to download YouTube videos. YouTube is designed only to provide users to watch and view (stream) videos on their website. Many internet users require to download or save their favorite YouTube videos to their PC to be watched offline, viewed on other devices, or edit them.
YouTube does not enable you to download videos directly from their site. You require to apply a third-party service, install software, or get a YouTube subscription service to get download a YouTube video. Here are our suggestions for downloading and watching YouTube videos on your system.
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ToggleHow to Download YouTube Videos for Offline Playback
The most common cause someone may want to download a video from YouTube is to watch the content when they’re not connected to the internet connection. Years ago, it needed sketchy sites and programs to do this, but now it’s made into the YouTube app!
- Subscribe to YouTube Premium
To permit offline playback on Android and iOS apps, you’ll require to be a YouTube Premium subscriber. The service costs $11.99/month. You’ll get more than just downloads, too, as YouTube Premium also delivers an ad-free experience and also unlocks YouTube Music. This streaming service works with traditional music (i.e., Spotify) as well as videos. You can sign up for YouTube Premium here.
- Find videos you want to download
Once you’ve got a YouTube Premium membership, downloading videos for offline use is super easy. Visit the video you’d want to download and, below the video player, you’ll observe a button marked Download. You can view this as shown on an iPad. The method is identical on Android smartphones and tablets, and you can also download video from search results by touching on the three-dot menu.
How to Download a Copy of Your Personal YouTube video
If you’re a YouTube creator, it can be handy to have copies of your work on hand. However, if something goes deleted by mistake, it can be a bit of a nightmare! Fortunately, YouTube holds a copy of every single video you upload — even if it’s set to private — which you can simply download.
Log into your YouTube account at studio.youtube.com, observe the video you want to download, and click the three-dot menu button alongside it. From there, you’ll see a button marked “Download.” It is merely pressing to download an MP4 copy of your video, although it is limited to 720p resolution.
How to download a publicly available YouTube video
If you plan to share a video clip that’s hosted on YouTube, you should do so by simply sending a link to someone else. That saves YouTube happy and supports creators getting paid. Anything else, such as downloading and redistributing the video yourself, is against YouTube’s Terms of Service and can undoubtedly get you in hot water.
However, if, for any kind of purpose, you require to download a duplicate of a video right from YouTube for yourself, there are techniques to do so.
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VLC Media Player
VLC Media Player is one of the most resilient media tools available for any device. It also happens to have the ability to assist in downloading content from online sources. To do that, you’ll require to be using the desktop app, not the Android or iOS counterparts. VLC is open for download on Windows, macOS, and Linux too.
The first step in the process is to move to the YouTube video you’d like to download and copy the URL to your clipboard. Next, open VLC and choose Media Menu in the toolbar. Below that section, locate Open Network Stream and then click Play. Next, hit Tools on the video stream and find Codec Information. A text field at the bottom of that window will include a URL that you need to paste into your browser.
From there, download the video by pushing the download icon. Do note, though, that this plan maxes out the resolution at 1080p.
VidPaw/U2Convert
If you don’t want to download a program to get a video, some websites make the process quick and easy. VidPaw has been an appreciated tool for this for some time but has recently begun tossing download services to “U2Convert.” Regardless of that, the service enables users to paste a YouTube link and see download options for WEBM, MP4, and MP3 (audio) formats. You’ll be stabbed at 720p unless you’re willing to pay a few dollars or stitch the A/V together yourself, but it goes well for being a free tool.
Best of all, it’s not overrun with ads like numerous other online conversion tools are.
4K Video Downloader
There’s a handy utility for downloading videos from YouTube if you have access to a desktop computer. 4K Video Downloader operates on Mac, Windows, and Linux as a free download, which can download videos at complete resolution from YouTube and Vimeo, Instagram, TikTok, and many other sources.
The free of cost version of this program does have limits for the number of videos you can download per day, per playlist, and channel, but there are paid tiers that can remove those restrictions.
FAQs
Q: Can you download a video from YouTube for free of cost?
YouTube does not provide you to download videos directly from their site. You require to utilize any other 3rd party service, install software, or take a YouTube subscription service to download a YouTube video. Here are our suggestions for downloading and watching YouTube videos on your PC.
Q: Why can’t I download YouTube videos anymore?
From YouTube’s Terms and Conditions, users are not permitted to download any videos from YouTube. Rather than download videos, YouTube requires its users to develop loyalty to the platform. The longer an individual stays on the YouTube platform, the more ads they see.