There are dozens of different ways to download YouTube videos so you can view them offline. Here are a few of the easiest and most effective methods
There are billions of hours of video on YouTube, literally. And that’s hardly the most astounding statistic about the site, which has been the go-to destination for uploading and watching videos online since 2005. That said, sometimes you really want or need to have one of those videos on your computer or phone. But when the topic of downloading YouTube videos comes up, a question arises: Is it legal?
On the copyright front, as long as you’re downloading a video for your own personal offline use, you’re probably OK. It’s more black and white according to Google’s terms of service for YouTube, which read: «You are not allowed to.access, reproduce, download, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, alter, modify or otherwise use any part of the Service or any Content except: (a) as expressly authorized by the Service; or (b) with prior written permission from YouTube and, if applicable, the respective rights holders.»
Watching YouTube videos offline through unofficial channels takes money from Google and video creators. There’s a reason YouTube runs ads: People make a living this way.
Obviously, stealing videos from YouTube is a big no-no. If you want to share a video, YouTube and most other video sites make it easy, from embedding to emailing to sharing via social networks. You simply do not need to download a video most of the time.
But you have your reasons. If you must download a YouTube video—absolutely need to, just for yourself, and not for dissemination, and not to be a jerk—here’s how.
Note: This story is updated frequently, as the tools involved change regularly. Some of those changes are not always pleasant, such as software so full of «extras» that it gets flagged as malware by antivirus tools. The same goes for the helper websites—a change in a site’s ad network can also create issues with malware.
To prevent this from becoming a laundry list of programs and sites that can download YouTube videos, we came up with a few rules for inclusion. Services must:
Work with the top three video sites: YouTube, Facebook, and Vimeo.
Download entire playlists or channels in a batch (on YouTube), at least with a paid version.
Output to MP3 for audio (or offer companion software that does so).
Have an interface that doesn’t suck.
Not collect your personal data beyond your email address.
Not contain malware. If there’s even a whiff of it, even a PUP, it’s out.
The programs, services, and sites in this story are all free of spam and virus problems as of this writing, but let the buyer beware. (Especially if you’re not really buying.)YouTube Premium Downloads
Now available for subscribers of YouTube Premium, the paid version of YouTube that allows you to watch without ads, are video downloads—kind of. There’s one limitation with quality: All the video you download is limited to 1080p quality or lower. No 4K.
The biggest issue is this feature doesn’t really download a video that you can save on your computer forever. It is more like the download feature found on mobile apps for Netflix and Hulu, which makes a streaming video available to watch later using your local storage via the app’s interface only. This won’t allow you to, say, watch a video using different software, such as the VLC Media Player or Plex.
Access the download by going to the YouTube hamburger menu and selecting Downloads to view the list of what you’ve grabbed. The page says «Downloads remain available as long as your device has an active internet connection at least once every 30 days.» This probably isn’t exactly what you are looking for. In which case, read on for tools that are a better fit.Desktop Software
Third-party software will give you the most control over downloading online videos. Typically, you paste the URL for the YouTube video you want into the program, and it downloads the highest-quality version it can find. For videos in 1080p high-definition format, that’s usually an MP4 file. For anything higher in quality—4K or 8K—the file format is typically MKV or WEBM.
MKV or WEBM extensions indicate the file is a Matroska, or a container—the file can hold a number of different kinds of media, from the video to stills to subtitles; the video could utilize any number of codecs. The foolproof way to play them all is to use the VLC Media Player, which supports just about every codec imaginable.
As for the downloaders, here are the best options:4K Video Downloader Plus
Free, or $15 for one year of personal use; $25 for a lifetime license; Windows, macOS, Ubuntu Linux
Multi-lingual 4K Video Downloader Plus (4KVD) is frequently updated and features clear download links on the program’s website; no ad traps here. The software does what it advertises using a simple interface: It grabs high-quality videos up to 8K and downloads to plenty of formats. Simply copy a YouTube URL and click the Paste Link button. 4KVD will even collect subtitles, entire playlists, and all the videos in a channel you subscribe to. The sites supported are limited to the big names, including YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and a few others, but that should cover most of what you need. The free version does display a large banner advertisement to keep the lights; it is limited to 30 downloads a day.
When I tried 4KVD, I had to switch from MP4 to MKV format to get my test video to download in 4K.
