You must purchase a YouTube Premium subscription, which costs $11.99. This is the only way to legally and with YouTube’s approval download YouTube videos offline. Once you’ve done that, launch the YouTube website in your desktop browser, conduct a search for the video you want to download, and then click on it to start playing. Next, pick “Download” from the pop-up menu by clicking the ellipsis icon (three horizontal dots) beneath the title bar.
Your download will start, and you can check its status (as well as all the videos you’ve downloaded) in the “Downloads” option of your account. If you’re unsure where to find it, look for the hamburger icon (three horizontal lines) in the upper left corner of your screen, close to the YouTube logo. Scroll down and choose Downloads from the menu.
You may also use the blue “Download Settings” link from this tab to set the default resolution for all upcoming downloads, or you can remove all of your previous downloads with just one click to free up some space on your device. One thing to keep in mind is that, although though offline YouTube videos aren’t saved as local files to your device’s storage, they are still encrypted on internal storage (through Google Support ), so you’ll need to make sure you have enough space for the files you’re downloading.
You will need to use a third-party program called a converter if you wish to download a copy of a YouTube video to your computer so you can transfer, copy, or edit it. There are numerous websites that provide this service, some of which are free and others of which are paid, but the method of operation is essentially the same everywhere: after copying the URL of the video from YouTube and pasting it into the converter website, you can download the converted file in MP4 or another format.
However, it’s crucial to note that YouTube disapproves of these tools because downloading videos is a flagrant violation of YouTube’s terms of service :
“Except as expressly authorized by the Service; or (b) with prior written permission from YouTube and, if applicable, the respective rights holders,” states the terms of service, “you are not permitted to access, reproduce, download, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, alter, modify or otherwise use any part of the Service or any Content.”
YouTube won’t likely sue you for downloading videos or the converter websites for making them available for unauthorized downloads because YouTube doesn’t have the authority to enforce this policy. But bear in mind that utilizing any of the third-party YouTube downloading tools constitutes consent to the company’s policy violation. Downloading YouTube videos might also be a direct violation of the law depending on where you live, as certain nations have copyright laws that guard intellectual property against piracy. For instance, the U.S. copyright law states that it is unlawful to copy content (whether for personal or commercial use) without the owner of the copyright’s express consent.
