How to Download Videos from Youtube and Other Platforms and why not to
While it has become common knowledge, it is still not common to some people and there are still tons of people wondering how they can download their favourite videos from youtube so that they don’t have to burn their data watching the videos again.
In Nigeria and other developing countries where data is a big deal, you may want to watch videos offline. I will show you how to do that, why you should not do it and what to do if you must download it.
Why you should not not download videos unofficially
- Creators invested time and resources to create their videos. Many creators make or want to make a living out of the contents they made hence they didn’t put it up for sale but offered it free with ads. They get paid through these ads and some are on their way to getting paid.
- When you view and engage on a video on youtube, you are giving the video exposure thereby making it reach more people. YouTube will always recommend videos that people watch. When you download it, it doesn’t count on YouTube and it may be to the loss of the creator who made efforts to put up the content.
- When you download a video from Youtube or other streaming sites, chances are that it will be distributed to others. While it may never get to land you in jail, you are infringing on someone’s copyright policies. Again, you are indirectly preventing the creator from getting rewarded for his or her work.
There are cases where it is very necessary for you that you download a video from YouTube. It may be because you want to conserve data because you want to watch later and so on.
Fair personal policies to adhere to
- You wouldn’t want to download a video if you didn’t find it educative, inspiring or entertaining. So, before you download it to ensure you subscribe to the channel, leave a comment on the video and like the video. By doing so, you’ve given back in the least way you can.
- If the video contains links to donations, you may want to make a little donation to appreciate the creator for a job well done. It is even much more important when such videos aren’t monetized on Youtube, daily motions and others.
- Don’t distribute to others. While it may not be 100% per cent possibility that it wouldn’t get from your device to another device, don’t intentionally redistribute the videos to others. Rather, send the link of the video to them. Remember, this is what someone made efforts to make available.
- Give credits. If you intend using parts of those contents on your own project, ensure you give credit to the publisher. Whether you want to use it on the news, in meetings etc, give credit to the original creator. If you are publishing a part of the content on the internet, put a link back to the original creator.
I needed to make these things clear so that you reevaluate why and if you should download videos from streaming platforms where it is somewhat officially prohibited. This is how and options to download videos from YouTube, some of these options will also work for other platforms.
YouTube
You can download some videos using the youtube app but you can only watch these videos with the app which makes it less useful if you want to use the video outside youtube for a project or certain extent of research. It also means you can’t play it elsewhere except you cast from your device to an external screen.
- Search or select the video you want on the youtube app.
- Look for a download icon just below the video. If it is not disabled, you can download by clicking on it. Not every video is open for download.
Tubemate
You won’t find this app on Google Playstore. The reason is simple, Google despises any product that goes against their rules. YouTube is owned by Google and therefore because Tubemate is designed to download videos from YouTube, it will never be on Playstore.
There are so many applications claiming to be Tubemate even on Google Playstore but they are all fake. Go to Google and search “Tubemate app”. Usually, the first links will lead to the original app. Alternatively, you can visit tubemate(dot)net
With Tubemate, all you need to do is copy the link of the video you want to download, go to your tubemate app and paste on the address bar. You’ll see a download button. When you click on it, you’ll allow to parse and make a choice of video quality you want.
Savefrom
This is one of the fastest ways to download Youtube videos in the quality you want. You also don’t need to download an app on your phone. On the computer, you may want to download an add-on that shows you a download button on every video. You can also use without add-on
- Find the link to the video you want to download and paste on your browser.
- Add “ss” (of course without “”) to the video URL to launch the youtube downloading process. (Example: Original video: https://youtube dot com/video Edit to: https://ssyoutube dot com/video)
- Select the format or quality
- To download from other websites, you can add sfrom(dot)net/thevideourl or savefrom(dot)net/thevideourl.
Other Platforms
Go to Google and search “online youtube downloader”. There are so many online platforms that offer free youtube video download and you’d see a lot of them. All you have to do is paste the video link on the URL box they provide and it initiates the video download.
There are other ways to download videos from Youtube but these are the most popular and faster ways to get it done.
– George O.N
Content Creator | Web Designer | Social Media Manager | Digital Skill Coach
