Downloading YouTube videos lets you watch them on any device, with or without an internet connection, include them in another video (with the author’s permission) and much more! It is relatively easy to download videos from the platform – even if the platform does not officially authorize the practice – through online services. In this quick tutorial we suggest you download your favorite YouTubes videos for free in a jiffy, both on PC and on smartphone.
YouTube does not normally allow you to download videos to your computer or smartphone. There is just an exception, limited in its use: the YouTube Premium subscription which allows you to view the videos of your choice offline. A download that you can only read in the official app. However, there are many valid reasons why you would like to download a video. Whether it’s yours, or have the permission of its author – or if the content in question is in the public domain or is accompanied by a license of type Copyleft, Creative Commons, or giving you the authorization use the video as you see fit.
There are applications and browser extensions to easily perform the operation. But these are often accompanied by adware or other malware. Fortunately, the method that we are going to show you does not require any installation and works on any operating system as long as you can download files there.
YouTube: how to download videos to PC, Mac or Android smartphone
For that :
- Go to the YouTube video you want to download and copy its address (ex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ )
- Go to the YouTubNow site by clicking on this link
- Paste the address of your videos
- Click on Search
- Choose the quality and format of the file from the drop-down menu
- Click on Download
On Android smartphone : the procedure can be performed entirely on your device. Another method to download youtube video on Android is available in this tutorial .
On iPhone and iPad : you will need to consult YouTubNow from the Documents by Readdle application, which includes a browser allowing you to download files to your smartphone’s memory.
Important : in some cases, if you choose an unavailable format, the site will offer to download a program – it is not recommended to continue, just choose another format and quality or try another video.
Other sites also allow free download of YouTube videos using the same method
YouTubNow is not the only online service for downloading YouTube videos in this way. You can also use one of the many download sites in exactly the same way, including:
- Savefrom.net
- Qdownloader.net
- Onlinevideoconverter.com
- Keepvid.app
- …and many others !
Did you find this quick tutorial useful? Comments to improve it? Share your feedback in the comments.