Although YouTube is a great place to learn and have fun, streaming video takes up a lot of data. Watching YouTube videos without a Wi-Fi connection will rapidly deplete your monthly allotment or start to add up on your phone bill.
Therefore, when you have an unlimited internet connection, download your favorite YouTube videos on your phone to keep yourself engaged and prevent unforeseen expenses.
What You Need to Download YouTube Videos
You must sign up for YouTube Premium if you want to watch YouTube videos offline. Although this subscription includes YouTube Music and features like Background Play and Ad-Free viewing, YouTube Premium is still worth the monthly cost because it allows you to download YouTube videos to your devices.
While there are different unofficial methods available for downloading any kind of web video, we do not advise utilizing them. Certain apps include malware, and it can be challenging to distinguish between genuine programs and those that are posing as “free” services. These apps may also violate YouTube’s terms of service and put you in legal trouble for violating copyright.
Open the YouTube app on your phone or tablet, then select the You tab from the bottom menu to sign up for YouTube Premium. Swipe up and select “Get YouTube Premium” from there. From there, you can select one of the following plans or, if you still have one, join up for a free trial: Choose between YouTube Premium Student, YouTube Premium Family, or YouTube Premium Individual. While prices vary by location, in the US they begin at $11.99 per month.
But keep in mind that not all places support YouTube Premium or the download feature. Therefore, before committing to a subscription, try the free trial first and see if the feature works for you.
How to Download YouTube Videos for Offline Viewing
Downloading a YouTube video to your device is simple if you have a YouTube Premium subscription. Simply open the YouTube app, choose a video you like, and play it. To download the video to your phone, select the “Download” option located beneath the channel name and subscribe button.
The button will read “Downloaded” if the video has already been downloaded. In order to remove the download and free up storage on your smartphone, tap on it once more and approve the “Delete from downloads” notification.
However, only long-form YouTube videos are compatible with the download option. We haven’t discovered a download option for YouTube Shorts on the YouTube app as of the time of writing. In order to keep access to the videos you have downloaded, you also need to make a 48-hour internet connection from your phone.
When you re-connect to the internet, the downloaded videos will be updated with any new information. Moreover, a video you’ve already downloaded won’t be accessible for viewing if the producer removes it.
Where to Find Your Downloaded YouTube Videos
Here’s where to look on the YouTube app for the videos you downloaded. After opening YouTube, select the You tab and then click on Downloads. All of the YouTube videos you downloaded ought to be visible from that point on.
YouTube will also provide Smart downloads if you haven’t already, allowing the app to download suggested videos automatically so you always have something to watch even when you’re not online.
To enable this feature and establish a storage limit, select the You tab, followed by Settings > Background & downloads. To use this feature, press the Smart downloads slider. Then, tap Adjust Smart downloads to change the amount of storage used automatically or manually. The Adjust Smart downloads option also allows you to modify the quality of the downloaded videos. However, you can click to Settings > Background & downloads > Download quality to adjust the video quality of manually downloaded videos.
Even though a YouTube Premium subscription only costs a few dollars each month, there are a lot of advantages. You can legally download YouTube videos to your PC, tablet, or smartphone in addition to enjoying background play—which is helpful for podcasts—and YouTube Music, which is a decent substitute for Spotify for casual listeners.