10 Video Downloading Life Hacks Every YouTube User Should Know

There are many ways to download YouTube videos, but the only official method is to pay for a YouTube Premium subscription . If you don’t want to do that, don’t despair. Instead, you can use one of the many YouTube video download methods to watch videos offline, download transcripts, or even extract audio from videos. Keep in mind, however, that YouTube is constantly changing its website and apps, so these methods may not always work. However, I have tested all of them and confirmed their functionality at the time of writing.

It’s also important to note that downloading YouTube videos outside of the app’s official channels is against the terms of service . However, if you’re only downloading videos for personal use, you’ll likely be fine. However, if you plan to upload this content to your own YouTube channels or attempt to monetize the downloaded content, that’s a different story. Please download content responsibly.

Use Apple’s Shortcuts app to download YouTube videos to your iPhone.

Downloading YouTube videos without a Premium subscription is quite a complicated task on iPhone, but thanks to automation capabilities and script apps from the App Store, it’s doable. I recommend using the YouTube “Download” shortcut to save videos for offline viewing on your iPhone.

During the automation process, the program will frequently ask you for permission. This is normal, as iOS doesn’t allow apps to access data from various sources without confirmation. While YouTube Download is one of the most popular shortcuts for iOS, be sure to install it from the RoutineHub link provided above. This ensures you always have the latest version of the shortcut, which is important for two reasons: Apple’s iCloud links don’t always update automatically, and YouTube’s code changes frequently. Follow these steps to download YouTube videos to your iPhone:

1. You will need three applications: a-Shell mini , Scriptable and Apple Shortcuts (the latter is installed by default).

2. Go to the YouTube upload page and click “Get a shortcut.” You can skip the registration prompt and click “Add shortcut” to add it to your library.

3. Once the shortcut is installed, open any YouTube video (in Safari or the YouTube app) and tap the Share button.

4. If you’re using the YouTube app, tap the “More” button in the “Share” menu. Skip this step if you’re using YouTube in Safari.

5. Scroll down the “Share” menu until you see the list of shortcuts. Select “Download from YouTube.” This will launch the automation, which will prompt you with a series of prompts. Allow it to access various YouTube URLs, a-Shell mini, and Scriptable—all of these are necessary for the shortcut to work.

6. After the permissions are requested, the shortcut will ask you what video quality you want to choose, where you want to save the video (to the Files or Photos folder), and whether you want to download subtitles, thumbnails, and so on. Select the desired options, and the shortcut will begin downloading the video.

7. Once the download is complete, you will find the video saved in the location you specified.

Use Downie to download YouTube videos on Mac.

Downie ($20) is a versatile video downloader , as it supports saving videos from a variety of sites, including YouTube. After installing the app, copy the YouTube video URL and click the “+” button in the lower left corner of the Downie homepage. The app may take a minute to start downloading the video, but it will get the job done. Downie is also available as part of a Setapp subscription , which lets you get the app (and many others) at a lower price.

Use Stacher to download YouTube videos on Windows or Linux.

It’s safe to say that yt-dlp is the gold standard among YouTube video downloaders for computers. Despite all its advantages, installation and launch are quite complex, as it’s a command-line utility. This is where applications like Stacher, which provide a user-friendly interface for yt-dlp, come in handy. You can install Stacher on Windows or Linux, paste the YouTube video URL, and the application will do the rest. It’s worth noting that antivirus software often incorrectly flags YouTube video downloaders as trusted, meaning that even if you download the installation file from the official website, your Windows computer will likely prevent you from running the installer.

Alternatively, you can get the app from Winget, a hidden package manager for Windows . Open the Start menu on your PC, search for “Terminal,” and open the app. Enter the following command to install Stacher:

winget install -e --id Stacher.Stacher

Alternatively, you can visit the Stacher page on Winstall and install the app from there. When ready, launch Stacher and confirm the installation of yt-dlp and ffmpeg. Now you can paste the URL of any YouTube video into the app and click the “High Quality” button. Use the “Download Format” drop-down menu to select the desired video quality, then click “Download” to begin. The default download location is the “Downloads” folder on your PC, but you can change it using the folder path button in Stacher.

Install NewPipe via Sideload to download YouTube videos to your Android phone.

If you need an app to download YouTube videos to your Android phone, you probably won’t find any suitable options in the Play Store. Most people are better off using web services to download YouTube videos, but if you absolutely must use an app, try NewPipe . You’ll have to install it on your phone manually, which is becoming increasingly difficult as Google continues to restrict the Android ecosystem .

After downloading the APK file from the NewPipe website, launch it on your phone to install the app. You may need to close some warning windows before the installation completes. When NewPipe is running, the app displays a download button under each YouTube video. Tap it to complete the process. If you’re looking for a more aesthetically pleasing alternative to NewPipe, you might want to check out LibreTube .

Use Cobalt to download YouTube videos from the internet.

A simple YouTube video download site is probably the best option for most people. If that’s what you’re looking for, you can visit Cobalt to save videos for offline viewing. The site occasionally goes down or disables downloads due to cost increases or changes from YouTube. In such cases, you can search for mirror sites, such as this one . Once you find a working mirror, simply paste the YouTube video URL and click the download button. The site will display a download progress bar and save the file to your device once complete.

Try NeoDLP to download YouTube videos without ads.

NeoDLP is another useful interface for yt-dlp, boasting several interesting features. It supports downloading YouTube playlists, embedding chapters and other metadata, and, most importantly, removing sponsored segments from downloaded videos. You can install the application either through the Winstall page or using the following winget command:

winget install -e --id neosubhamoy.neodlp

After launching NeoDLP, click the “Settings” button in the lower left corner and go to the “Sponsor Blocking” section to configure sponsored ad removal. You can select categories to remove, such as sponsored segments, subscription reminders, hooks, interstitials, and more. Next, click the “Downloader” button in the left panel, paste the YouTube video URL, and click “Search .” The app will take a moment to find the video. Afterward, select the “Merge ” button next to “Download Options.” Now you can choose whether you want subtitles, the correct audio stream, and the desired video quality for the download. Then, click “Start Download.”

Use this site to download YouTube video transcripts for free.

If you just need a searchable transcript of a YouTube video, you don’t need a video downloader. Instead, go to this YouTube transcript website, paste the video URL, and click “Extract Transcript.” You can copy the transcript or download it in formats such as PDF, TXT, SRT, and so on.

Try Downsub to extract subtitles from YouTube videos.

You may find that the downloaded video doesn’t have the best audio quality, and you need subtitles to understand what the presenter is saying. In such cases, you don’t need to re-download the video with subtitles. You can simply use Downsub to extract the subtitles from the video. Simply paste the video URL into the text field on the Downsub main page and click “Download.” You’ll see that you can download subtitles in .srt, .txt, .vtt, and other formats. The site also allows you to select subtitles in different languages. Keep in mind that this feature may not work reliably when trying to download automatically generated YouTube subtitles.

Use 4K YouTube to MP3 to extract audio from your favorite videos.

For those who only need an app to extract audio files from YouTube videos, 4K YouTube to MP3 is a good option. It’s pretty simple: copy the YouTube video URL, click the “Paste Link” button in 4K YouTube to MP3, and the app will do the rest. It will extract the audio from the video, convert it to MP3 format, and save it to the “Downloads” folder on your computer. The free version limits downloads to five per day, which is more than enough for everyday use. If you want to get more audio files for free, you may want to consider the other YouTube video downloaders mentioned in this guide.

Use ClipsCutter to download short videos from YouTube.

If you need a short clip from a YouTube video, you don’t need to download the entire video and then trim it using an editing app. Instead, you can use ClipsCutter , an online video trimming service. You can paste the YouTube link onto the site, select the start and end time of the clip, format, and resolution, and then click ” Create .” The site will create your clip and allow you to quickly download it. The free plan allows you to download clips up to 10 minutes long and limits the resolution to 360p, but you can pay $6 per month to remove these restrictions.

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