How to Download YouTube Videos on PC or Phone in 2024

More than 100 hours of videos are posted to YouTube every minute. The platform is by far the most popular place for video uploading and viewing. They want to keep it that way at Google, so there is no official option to download videos with third-party applications or any other platforms as it is against the terms of service which states that you’re only able to stream videos directly from its servers. But what if you still want to save a YouTube video? With these tips, you can still download videos from YouTube.

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How to Download YouTube videos

You will discover that there is a great need for downloading YouTube videos when you type it on Google. Tens, if not hundreds of pages, offer the opportunity to download a video. But which one is best to use now? Well, actually they are all fine, so it is just as easy to get every other thing.

It is very simple to download a YouTube video by following the steps below;

• Copy the URL of the video you want to download;
• Then open your browser and paste the video URL you copied;
• Add ‘ss’ before the video URL (e.g https://ssyoutube.com/watch?v=BCb8YAiHcHM);
• You’ll be redirected to another website;
• There select the video resolution and the file type;
• Then click Continue and the video will be prepared;
• Now click on Start Download, and the video will be saved on your phone storage.

The fact that YouTube prefers not to have you download videos from the site is expressed too softly because according to YouTube’s terms of use, it is not allowed at all. 

The terms explicitly state: “Such Content may not be downloaded, copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, broadcast, displayed, sold, licensed, or otherwise exploited without the prior written consent of YouTube.” 

Now you do not have to be afraid of that download (for your own use), as long as you do not upload the videos again to YouTube (or another site) or distribute them further.

Download YouTube videos via Browser Extension

Downloading from a website is fine, but it means that you must first go to YouTube, copy the URL and then paste it into the site. Can’t it be faster and easier? You can, but you will need to install a browser extension first. We deliberately did not include a video downloader because we already covered it here.

A good extension for Firefox is Easy Youtube Video Downloader Express. The name explains exactly what the extension does: it adds a button below the video, which allows you to download the video with one click. Unfortunately, this extension does not exist for Chrome, because Google (because of its own rules) does not allow such an extension. It also happens regularly that such Firefox browser extensions are removed.

flv2mp3: How to convert YouTube videos to MP3

Wonderfully quiet without ads, and even safer, because you cannot accidentally click on a link that actually contains junk. We use www.flv2mp3.by to download media from YouTube, we have good experiences with this service.

1. Now go (in another tab of your browser) on YouTube to the video of which you want the music
2. Copy the link from the address bar (looks like something like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=[code]
3. Now on the conversion site, paste the link into the box and click Convert to MP3
4. Wait a moment for the file to be ready
5. Then click Download.

If you want not only the music but also the video, you can also easily download the video via flv2mp3. Choose in which format (mp4, mp4 HD, Avi or avi HD) you want the movie, then paste the YouTube link into the box. Furthermore, this works the same as downloading music. Flv2mp3 also offers a download tool for Windows, which is useful if you often download videos or songs. It also allows you to download from Dailymotion, Vimeo and SoundCloud.

There is a chance that your browser warns that the site is unsafe. Perhaps because the site violates YouTube’s terms. If you’re a bit worried, turn on an ad blocker and use an incognito window to be on the safe side.

How to Download your own YouTube videos

Although YouTube does not want you to download videos from others, of course, that does not apply to your own videos, you are entitled to that.

To download a video that you have uploaded yourself, go to Video Manager on YouTube, and click the down arrow next to Edit on the video you want to download. There you will see the option to Download MP4. You will then automatically download the video at the highest quality.

Windows program

It is also perfectly possible to download a program that allows you to download YouTube videos. The main advantage (over downloading from a website) of many such programs is that you are not limited to downloading only one video at a time. That doesn’t matter if you want to download three videos, but when you try to download a whole series of videos from your favourite YouTube channel, it becomes quite annoying (and time-consuming) if you have to wait every time for your video to download the new URL stick in it.

A good example of such a (free) program is Free YouTube Download. With this program, you can download more videos simultaneously. You can do this by entering multiple URLs, but you can also download complete channels with the push of a button. The latter really saves a lot of time and work. Nice is that you can also select other file types, such as .wmv and .avi, where you obviously have control over the quality. To download a video, copy the URL from YouTube (from the video or channel) and click Paste in the program. The download will start immediately.

Download YouTube videos and MP3 using Clip Converter

On the Clip Converter site you download, among others, the services Direct Download, YouTube (HQ and HD), Google Video, Sevenload, MySpace, Dailymotion (HQ), Vimeo (HQ), Metacafe, MyVideo and Veoh. Simply paste the internet address into the media box and click on the desired format. The film material can be converted directly to the mp4, 3gp, Avi or MOV format. You can also have the music extracted from online clips in MP3, M4A and AAC. The site itself detects the best settings and if you want to do it right the first time, enter the correct tags so that your media player will automatically recognize the song, album and artist.

Download YouTube videos via VLC

VLC owes its popularity to the fact that this media player can handle almost all file formats. If VLC cannot play it, then it may fail. This versatile media player can also be used to watch videos online and you can even download videos via a shortcut.

To stream a video on PC using VLC,

1. Click on Media and choose Open Network Stream
2. In the next window, paste the Internet address of the YouTube video and
3. Then click Open.

To download YouTube videos using VLC Player,

1. You go into the menu Tools to Codec Information,
2. At Location, you can read the internet address where VLC gets the video. Copy this link and paste it into your internet browser,
3. Open the video in the browser, then you can right-click on the video and save the video without going through YouTube.

Download YouTube videos on a smartphone or tablet

Downloading a YouTube video to your computer is easy, but what about your smartphone or tablet? It works a bit more cumbersome, but contrary to popular belief, it is possible.

Apps to download from YouTube are taken by Apple and Google from the Play Store and App Store. Download apps often pop up, which are then removed again in the near future. Most apps work the same way: you are presented with an interface similar to that of a browser. In it, you enter the URL of the video, and the file is downloaded to your iPhone. At the moment there are such apps in the App Store, but how well they work and how long they remain available remains to be seen. Just a matter of keeping an eye on it and getting lucky.

It is significantly easier to download videos on Android, but you don’t download the app for it from the official Google Play Store (for the same reason you can’t download an extension for Chrome: Google doesn’t want it). You can download the app TubeMate YouTube Downloader as a separate APK installation file.

Note: For an app outside can install the Google Play Store to whom you are in the Settings tab Security the option Unknown sources not permitted to turn, otherwise the download. Keep in mind that that option is not turned off by default for nothing, keep careful which apps you download.

To download a video now, open the YouTube app, search for and open the video you would like to download. Then press the Share icon and in the menu that expands, select YouTube Downloader. Then you can choose in what quality you want to download the video and the download can start.