Mon. Apr 29th, 2024

Getty Photos

Whereas primary YouTube solely gives downloads for a couple of movies in chosen areas, there are methods to obtain any YouTube video you need at any time.

Additionally: Observe ZDNET on YouTube!

We’ll cowl how one can obtain your favourite movies utilizing three approaches: 

Paying for YouTube PremiumUsing a free Mac, Home windows, or Linux applicationUsing an obscure and complicated (but very highly effective) Linux command line device

Your paid possibility: YouTube Premium

I am an enormous fan of YouTube Premium as a result of it saves my spouse and me from enduring most advertisements, however it’s a luxurious expense. People can subscribe to YouTube Premium for $11.99 a month. YouTube additionally gives a household plan for as much as six customers for $22.99 a month. Lastly, college students can subscribe to YouTube Premium for $6.99 a month. 

My favourite function is an entire lack of Google-provided advertisements. There are not any banners, no pre-roll, and no interstitial advertisements. Nonetheless, if a YouTube channel desires to embed an advert in a video, YouTube Premium is not going to filter these YouTuber-embedded advertisements.

Additionally: These 3 AI instruments made my two-minute how-to video far more enjoyable and interesting

YouTube Premium offers background play and picture-in-picture, YouTube Music, and entry to YouTube Originals. 

YouTube Premium additionally consists of the power to obtain movies. This is the way you do it. 

The right way to obtain YouTube movies by way of YouTube Premium

As soon as you’ve got subscribed to YouTube Premium, you may have a Obtain button in your internet browser or your cellphone app to the proper of the Share (arrow) icon on the backside of a video. 

See the Obtain button marked by my arrows. 

Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET

Choose the video(s) you need to obtain and as soon as it comes up in the principle display screen show, click on the Obtain icon. 

You will discover your downloads within the Downloads space of YouTube. Discover that YouTube says that the downloads are retained so long as you will have an web connection at the very least as soon as each 30 days. That manner, YouTube can affirm you might be nonetheless a YouTube Premium consumer.

David Gewirtz/ZDNET

Saving as soon as downloaded 

You are not given a simple method to flip that obtain right into a usable video file on a desktop machine, so if you wish to use that video for something apart from watching offline, you are considerably out of luck. The identical is true of iOS. 

Additionally: Warning: Your non-public YouTube movies aren’t 100% non-public

Nonetheless, should you’re an Android consumer with an SD card slot in your cellphone, you possibly can set the YouTube app settings (faucet your profile image, then Settings, then Downloads) to avoid wasting movies to your SD card.

David Gewirtz/ZDNET

So, that is tips on how to obtain movies into an solely barely usable kind for the low-low value of $11.99 monthly. However what in order for you a greater answer, and also you need to do it at no cost? Yeah, we now have you coated.

Your free possibility (and my most popular manner) to obtain YouTube movies: ClipGrab

I’ve to present ZDNET’s managing editor props for introducing me to this program a couple of years in the past. I have been utilizing it ever since. 

Additionally: Change this Android setting to immediately double your cellphone pace

ClipGrab is a free program obtainable for Mac, Home windows, and Linux customers. The developer says it is open supply, however the supply code is simply obtainable for Linux. In any case, ClipGrab rocks. This is tips on how to obtain and use it.

1. Go to ClipGrab.org

Level your browser to ClipGrab.org and click on the Present All Obtain Choices hyperlink. You will see obtain hyperlinks for Mac, Home windows, and Linux there. I will present you the Mac model on this article, however the interface is just about an identical on all three.

2. Copy the YouTube video hyperlink

Copy the video hyperlink of the YouTube video(s) you want to obtain. You are able to do this up in your browser’s URL bar or by clicking the Share button beneath the video itself. 

3. Launch ClipGrab

Just be sure you’re on the Downloads tab after which select the Launch ClipGrab possibility. 

4. Copy and Paste 

Copy and paste the URL of the video you need to obtain into ClickGrab. 

5. Click on Seize this clip!

As soon as you’ve got copied and pasted the specified video hyperlink into the ClickGrab browser, choose Seize this clip!

Put one hyperlink of a video at a time into the highest Downloads tab browser on ClickGrab. When you’re able to obtain, choose Seize this clip!

David Gewirtz/ZDNET

6. Select the video format

On ClickGrab, you too can tweak choices.

For instance, you possibly can select the format you need the video to be in when it is saved in your laptop. I usually go together with Authentic, however I will specify one thing else if that does not work. 

Additionally: The right way to activate Personal DNS Mode on Android (and why it is best to)

You too can choose obtain decision. Relying on the video’s authentic decision, you possibly can select to obtain the complete decision video or scale back the decision to avoid wasting house.

David Gewirtz/ZDNET

7. Customise

Lastly, tapping the Settings tab allows you to customise the place ClipGrab deposits your newly downloaded movies.

David Gewirtz/ZDNET

Linux command line choices

I might be remiss (or so I have been instructed within the feedback under, on Twitter, and in my e mail inbox) if I did not point out that Linux customers have a command line possibility (as a result of, after all they do) to obtain YouTube movies. As with all-things Linux command line, there are some grey areas right here, equivalent to whether or not the device even works or whether or not there’s a greater device.

The primary on this command line hit parade is youtube-dl. You may get entry to it by way of its personal web site, on GitHub, or your favourite bundle supervisor. 

Additionally: The right way to set up Linux purposes from the command line

It ought to be famous that the GitHub repository was taken down for some time as a consequence of an allegation of DMCA violations, however GitHub later reinstated it. You may learn a really fascinating story about GitHub’s reasoning and response. 

Some of us declare that youtube-dl is outdated hat and hasn’t been up to date shortly. There’s one other open-source mission on GitHub, referred to as yt-dlp, that claims to be a fork of youtube-dl with extra options. I have never examined it, so use it at your individual danger.

Additionally: Linux isn’t just for builders and command line professionals

Each youtube-dl and yt-dlp supply a really, very wide selection of options should you want them. Personally, I will follow ClipGrab, as a result of I haven’t got time to show YouTube downloading right into a second or third full-time job. However it’s as much as you.

What occurred to SaveFrom.web?

A few of you is perhaps acquainted with the location SaveFrom.web. This web site allowed you to obtain from YouTube, Vimeo, DailyMotion (and some different websites), merely by pasting a URL into an online web page on the location. It additionally had a browser extension that facilitated downloads. However, highlighting the subject in our subsequent part, SaveFrom.web has shut down its operations within the U.S. and the U.Okay., saying this from the U.Okay. (and the equal within the U.S.):

Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET

Nonetheless, one in every of our intrepid editors (not me) set his VPN to the Czech Republic and located that SaveFrom.web is alive and nicely, hiding distant from copyright legal guidelines:

Screenshot by David Gewirtz/ZDNET

Talking of copyright legal guidelines…

Some ethical, moral, and authorized concerns

Now that you understand how to obtain YouTube movies, must you? First, do remember that totally different jurisdictions have totally different legal guidelines. It could or will not be authorized to obtain a given video, even when all you need to do is watch it offline.

If you wish to obtain a video to include it into one thing you are producing, understand that some international locations have the idea of Truthful Use. In these jurisdictions, small clips of copyrighted media may be integrated into your productions. However you must also do not forget that YouTube has algorithmic programs searching for folks reusing movies, and your channel may get a strike towards it for reusing media.

Additionally: The right way to report a cellphone name on an iPhone

When unsure, it is all the time finest to ask.

So, there you go. Do you will have different strategies for undertaking the identical factor? Tell us within the feedback under.


You may comply with my day-to-day mission updates on social media. You should definitely comply with me on Twitter at @DavidGewirtz, on Fb at Fb.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV.

Avatar photo

By Admin

Leave a Reply