How to Download YouTube Videos

Are you looking for a quick and easy way to download videos from YouTube? Downloading videos on YouTube is a great way to watch your favorite content anytime, anywhere, even when you don’t have access to the internet. In this guide, we will show you how to download videos from YouTube in just a few simple steps.

There are numerous methods to download a video on youtube, depending on what you intend to do with them and how you intend to use them. The scale of YouTube content and viewers are constantly jumping and every day almost 4 Million videos are being uploaded. YouTube has become a large platform that allows users to consume data from almost every category. 

Besides this, there are various other methods for downloading YouTube videos like third-party software, browser extensions, etc. In this article, we will first understand whether it’s legal to download youtube videos and later will discuss all the possible methods to download YouTube videos.

Download a Video on YouTube – is it legal?

As per the company’s policy, video content such as movies, videos, or any clips shall not be downloaded by the user and the company is liable to file a lawsuit against it. However, millions of videos are being downloaded by different users throughout the world but you’re safe until you’re using it to distribute, reproduce or manipulate that video. Since the company works on a promotional basis, one shall watch advertisement videos before the video starts, or else you do have the option to purchase the subscription model to avoid any ads between the videos. 

The company believes that the videos that are posted on the platform are solely its property and that fair use should be streaming videos as and when required. But that’s not the conclusion of it, In fact, there are certain fair practices that you can start before thinking of downloading any YouTube video.

1. Try to get the permission of the owner to avoid any copyright issues. (applicable for both video and audio clips/videos)
2. Since YouTube has become mainstream for many users and offers a wide range of tutorial videos, it can be used when it comes to learning, teaching, etc.
3. You can pick videos to download that are not tagged as “Copyrighted” in order to reproduce the content.
4. There are endless resources for the general domain which has been produced for normal usage, downloading such videos should not hamper any legal issues.
5. You are likely to get relaxation against any lawsuit when you’re downloading any YouTube videos but ensure not to use it for any unethical purpose.

Now, let’s find out the modes of downloading YouTube videos:

I. Download YouTube Videos Using URL SS Method

This is one of the simplest and possibly the best way of downloading YouTube videos in a few steps without downloading any additional tools or software. Let’s understand “SS” method in 3 simple steps:

Step 1: It’s a trick that lies within the URL and allows users to download any youtube video that they want. Simply visit the YouTube website and open any video that you wish to download. 

Step 2: Now, simply click on the URL and add “ss” right before (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc0H_2yegqw) the highlighted texts and hit the enter button. You will be then migrated to the designated website for downloading that particular YouTube video.

Step 3: Once you’re landed on this website, simply click on the DOWNLOAD button and you’re good to go. Now, you can enjoy watching videos as and when required.

II. Download a Video on YouTube Using Third-Party Software

When you have the control to download any YouTube video you want then it becomes more convenient to perform such action. As of today, there are thousands of Free and Paid software available in the market that offers to download YouTube videos of different length in different resolution. We’ve mentioned the 5 best third-party software for downloading Youtube videos. 

1. VLC Media Player

VLC is an open-source platform that runs on multiple platforms i.e. Windows, Mac, and Linux, and possibly one of the oldest tools of the ’20s. It allows users to play both audio and video files of different formats such as MPEG (ES,PS,TS, PVA, MP3), AVI, ASF / WMV / WMA, MP4 / MOV / 3GP, etc. You can download YouTube videos using 5 simple steps. Let’s find out:

Step 1: Open YouTube and copy the URL of the desired video.

Step 2: After copying the URL, open the VLC media player and click on Media -> Open Network Stream (shortcut – Ctrl+N)

Step 3: A new window will pop up with 4 options, now paste the desired URL within the Network Protocol box and hit on the “Play” button.

Step 4: Right after this, the video will start playing, now simply hit Ctrl+J or click on Tools -> Codec Information, and copy the Location from it.

Step 5: Now open Google Chrome or any web browser and paste the copied Location and hit the ENTER button. Your desired video should display then. You simply need to right-click of the mouse and hit the “Save Video” option. Choose your desired local storage to save the file, and the file will start downloading. Enjoy your video now.

2. 4K Video Downloader 

Users often use this platform to download YouTube videos up to 8K resolution. It offers users to download videos with subtitles along with the languages. The best part is, users need to simply visit the website or download the free application (more or less like a Torrent) and paste the URL in the Paste Link, “+” tab. Besides this, the software is available in different OS (Win, Lin, Mac, etc.)

3. WinX YouTube Downloader

WinX allows users to download videos at up to 6x speed from normal software and users can enjoy a 4K/HD experience by using this software. WinX allows users to add up to 300 URLs at a time and offers users to download YouTube videos in different formats and of different sizes.

III. Download YouTube Videos Using Websites

Using websites like SaveFrom 2.0 and y2mate to download YouTube videos is one of the simplest methods. Users can download YouTube videos directly from these websites.

Step 1: Copy the link to the video (GFG video for demonstration purposes)

Step 2: Go to one of the websites listed above.

Step 3: Paste the link to the YouTube video.

Step 3: The download will begin shortly after you select the video quality.

Step 4: Include pi after YouTube or SS before it for a faster process, and choose the quality to download immediately.

IV. Download YouTube Videos Using Python Script

Here, we are using pytube, a python module, to download a video on youtube.

Step 1: First, download the module using.

pip install pytube

Step 2: Then head on to the location where you want to save the video then open the preferred IDE at that location.

Step 3: Import the module.

import pytube

Step 4: Paste the following command.

pytube.Youtube('<link to the video>').
streams.filter(progressive=True, 
file_extension='mp4').order_by
('resolution').last().download()

Here, 

• Filter function → To only fetch the file with extension as mp4
• Order by → arranges the files in order of resolution, with the lowest quality first and the highest quality last
• Last() → fetches the video with the best quality (for lowest quality → first() )
• Download() → downloads the fetched video to the location.

## Importing module

import pytube 

pytube.YouTube(‘<link to video>’).streams.filter

(progressive=True, file_extension=’mp4′).order_by

(‘resolution’).last().download()

Example 1:

Python3

## Importing Module
import pytube
pytube.YouTube('https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=Pt2vYaJgGy8&t=1s').streams.filter(
progressive=True, file_extension='mp4').
order_by('resolution').last().download()

Output:

V. Download YouTube Videos Using Chrome Extension

This method can be more fun by using your web browser, and with a few clicks, you’re good to go for downloading any YouTube video in no time. Let’s look at 3 such extensions that are highly used today.

1. FBDown Video Downloader

This extension allows users to download YouTube videos at 10x speed. This tension also allows users to download videos in groups and subtitles can be extracted along with the video. Besides this, it also offers downloading videos from hundreds of different sources.

2. Video Downloader Plus

This is another perfect chrome extension for downloading YouTube videos free of cost. This extension allows users to download videos, and convert videos from video to audio and vice versa. A user can also download the subtitle automatically when a video a being downloaded. 

3. By Click

You can download a video on YouTube in different formats using this chrome extension. By Click offers users to download videos from Daily motion, YouTube, and 35-40 other resources in 1080, 4K, and 8K picture quality. Although the user interface is not that good users from Mac, Windows, and Linux can enjoy using this extension.

Conclusion

No matter whether you have availability of downloading any add-on software or are not willing to visit any particular website for downloading YouTube videos. We’ve summarized a complete list of 5 completely different modules for downloading YouTube videos free in a matter of time. No matter what your quality or size preference is, the above-listed solutions will definitely give it all.