Trying to figure out how to download YouTube videos? Or perhaps wondering if downloading YouTube videos is even legal in the first place?
Well, as it turns out, it’s actually possible to download YouTube videos. And yes- fortunately, you can download YouTube videos legally.
But then again, and rather, unfortunately, the whole process can also be illegal. In fact, most of the people who download YouTube videos from the platform happen to do it illegally.
Luckily for you, though, we don’t judge. You see, YouTube is consistently attracting about 500 hours of video uploads every minute. So, of course, we understand that every now and then, you’re bound to come across a couple of clips that you might want to watch offline.
As such, we won’t hold anything back. We’ll reveal both legal and potentially illegal means of downloading YouTube videos, and then leave you to decide.
What This Article Covers
This post guides you through the entire process of downloading YouTube videos in different formats using the best and easiest methods. What’s more, the options and apps we’ve covered here are all free of charge. That means you get to download an unlimited number of YouTube videos for free.
But, it doesn’t end there. Since mobile accounts for 70% of YouTube’s watch time, we’ve further done you the courtesy of explaining how to download YouTube videos from your mobile device (particularly Android).
However, before we get into all those details, let’s start with the basics. You ought to understand the legalities surrounding YouTube downloads before taking any risks.
Is Downloading YouTube Videos Legal?
Well, if you take the time to read the fine print in YouTube Terms of Service, Google explicitly states that “…you’re not allowed to access, alter, license, sell, display, broadcast, transmit, distribute, download, reproduce, modify or otherwise use any part of the service or its content unless; (a) as expressly authorized by YouTube, or (b) with prior written permission from YouTube and possibly, the corresponding copyright holders too…”
In short, therefore, YouTube doesn’t want you ripping its content. Downloading YouTube videos is basically a form of copyright infringement on the platform.
But, don’t get me wrong. This doesn’t apply to all YouTube videos and users.
If you haven’t noticed already, some YouTube videos come with a download button. Turns out YouTube gives content creators the option of enabling video downloads.
Quite a neat feature, I must admit. But then again, let’s be honest about it. You’ll only find the native download option on a handful of YouTube videos. And, for some strange reason, it just so happens that such clips are not typically what you’d call entertaining.
But, there’s a way out. At least YouTube is kind enough to lift its download restrictions through the YouTube Premium service. Here’s how it works:
1. How To Download With YouTube Premium
YouTube Premium is best known for offering the privilege of downloading music and videos for offline listening. Additionally, you can minimize your phone’s YouTube app and play your stuff in the background.
Here’s the kicker though. The YouTube Premium service is not for budget-minded users. It costs at least $11.99 a month.
And if you think that will give you unlimited download privileges, here’s another disappointing fact- the Premium service is not exactly all-inclusive. You’ll notice that some YouTube videos come with extra restrictions. That means that even with your Premium account, you won’t be able to download them.
Then for the ones that you end up downloading, don’t be mistaken that YouTube will let you off easily. The platform keeps even its offline content on a tight leash, with YouTube Premium users renewing their content rights on a monthly basis. So, if you choose to opt-out of the service, you can bet that YouTube will take away even your video and music downloads.
Also, while you continue using YouTube Premium, you cannot distribute the downloads or broadcast them publicly. All the videos and music you download from YouTube are essentially for personal offline use. Nothing more.
Now, if that sounds fine by you, you can go ahead and try out the YouTube Premium service. And while you’re at it, here’s how you’ll download YouTube videos:
Step 1: Access The YouTube Video
You can only download YouTube videos from their respective watch pages. So, start by searching for your target video, and then click on its link to access the main watch page.
Step 2: Find The Video’s Download Icon
While the video is playing, you’ll find its download icon at the bottom of the screen, right next to the share button. It’s normally displayed as a grey down-arrow symbol.
Step 3: Download The YouTube Video For Offline Listening
Hitting the grew download button allows you to download the YouTube video to your device for offline listening.
However, you won’t find subsequently find the video file within your general Downloads folder. Rather, YouTube prefers to hold it in your app’s Library or Account tab.
All in all, though, that’s a pretty convenient and simple way of downloading YouTube videos legally. The only problem is, it just so happens that only a negligible fraction of users have such capabilities.
You see, only 2 million of YouTube’s 20 billion users have, so far, joined its premium service. This puts the rest- 99% to be precise- in an awkward position. They have to seek other ways to download content from YouTube.
2. How To Download Without YouTube Premium
The good news is, you can download pretty much any YouTube video without subscribing to the YouTube premium service. But, there’s a catch- you’ll need a third-party app to proceed.
Now, this is where things get a bit interesting. And the kicker is, YouTube considers this approach a blatant violation of its copyright terms. That means there might be legal ramifications if you’re caught.
But then again, the chances of that happening are pretty low, especially if you restrict yourself to personal use. YouTube has bigger problems to worry about than a few video downloads from a random user every now and then.
And with that, let’s now move on to the next issue; which are these apps that allow you to download YouTube videos?
The Best Free Apps For Downloading YouTube Videos
The YouTube video and audio download spaces are extensively broad, with numerous applications claiming to provide the service. A quick search on Google alone will give you an overwhelming range of options.
But, here’s a word of caution. Don’t be tempted to try out the apps right away, as the YouTube video download industry is a lot like digital torrent systems- unregulated and with a disproportionately high volume of deceitful malware.
So, before anything, you might want to research extensively and identify bonafide apps that have been adequately tested and reviewed by other users. Once you do, you should subsequently zero-in on the few solutions that offer the following features:
- Free YouTube Video Downloads: You get to download an unlimited number of YouTube videos without ever paying anything.
- High-Quality YouTube Video Downloads: Capable of downloading YouTube videos in not just HD and UHD, but also in 4K and 8K resolution.
- Multiple Video Formats: You should be able to download YouTube videos in mainstream formats like MP4 and FLV, as well as non-standard files such as HML5, OGG, WEBM, SWF, MKV, 3G2, 3GP, M2TS, ASF, AVI, MPG, WMV, etc. The more the format options, the better.
- Simple and Fast Downloads: It should only take one or two clicks, and a couple of seconds to initiate and complete the entire YouTube conversion and download process.
Now taking all these factors into consideration, we ultimately picked the following as the best YouTube video downloaders in their respective categories.
- Best YouTube Video Downloader App for Pcs: 4K Video Downloader
- Best Cloud-Based YouTube Video Downloader: Y2mate
- Best YouTube Video Downloader for Mobile: TubeMate
3. How To Download To Your PC For Free
1. Downloading With An Installable App: 4K Video Downloader
Step 1: Install The 4K Video Downloader App
4K Video Downloader is an on-premise PC application for converting and downloading YouTube videos and audio. That means you can only leverage its tools after acquiring and installing the software directly to your PC.
Thankfully, the installable version of 4K Video Downloader is readily available on 4kdownload.com. Simply click on the “Get 4K Video Downloader” button, and voila!
Once you’ve downloaded the file, you can proceed to install the app on your PC right away. Just click on the installation file and choose to run it as an admin. Your system will then briefly guide you through the installation steps, which should only take you a couple of seconds.
At the very last stage, though, remember to click on the “Launch” checkbox before hitting “Finish”. This will open the 4K Video Downloader immediately after installation.
Step 2: Go To YouTube and Copy The Video URL
Minimize the 4K Video Downloader app for now and go to your internet browser.
You should then access YouTube, search for the video you’d like to download, open its watch page, and copy the URL directly from your address bar.
Step 3: Paste The YouTube Video URL To 4K Video Downloader
The standard logical step, at this point, would be pasting the YouTube video URL to your 4K Video Downloader window. But, as you’ll come to notice, the app is intelligent enough to automatically lift YouTube video links from the system clipboard.
So, in short, 4K Video Downloader won’t sit idly waiting for you to paste the link. It’ll start parsing and processing the YouTube URL as soon as you hit copy.
But, in the event the app fails to proceed automatically, you can go ahead and manually paste the link through its “Paste Link” button.
Step 4: Select Your Preferred Download Video Format and Quality
The entire parsing process should only take a couple of seconds for a standard YouTube video. And by the time it’s done, 4K Video Downloader will have analyzed the available video resolutions and content formats.
The app will then display a pop-up window, from where you can choose your preferred download format and quality. In other words, you get to pick not only your download video type but also its display resolution.
You could, for instance, choose to download your selected YouTube video in MP4 format, along with an accompanying display resolution of 8K.
It’s worth noting, however, that the higher the resolution quality, the bigger the resultant file, and the longer the download process.
Step 5: Download The YouTube Video To Your PC
With the preferred file format and quality selected, you can go ahead and hit the download button. 4K Video Downloader will swing into action immediately and download the identified YouTube video in its requested format and resolution.
In the meantime, you can freely introduce additional download tasks, as 4K Video Downloader is capable of handling multiple download