No apps or extra software — how to save videos from YouTube

YouTube remains the most convenient platform for watching videos, but sometimes you want to have the right video at your fingertips offline. There are simple and free ways to save content that do not require additional software or account creation.

Blik.ua writes about it.

How to download videos from YouTube

YouTube's policy prohibits uploading videos without the consent of the copyright holder, but the exception is videos with the Creative Commons license or those that the author has allowed to be stored. The law does not restrict personal use of files, as long as they are not distributed further.

The Y2Mate service supports video up to 8K, offers a choice of quality, and allows you to extract the audio track in MP3 format separately. The interface is available in Ukrainian, and the number of downloads is not limited.

SaveFrom.net has been working for quite some time: just paste the link or add ss directly before the word youtube in the URL to get the file.

On SnapSave, HD videos load quickly, the service supports subtitles, does not show ads, and works correctly in mobile browsers.

The KeepVid platform covers more than a thousand different websites and allows you to save content not only from YouTube, choosing MP4, WEBM or MP3 formats.

For users who prefer the one-click experience, the Video DownloadHelper extension for Firefox and Chrome is a great option: once installed, it automatically recognises videos on the page. Due to Chrome's policy, some extensions may not work in the YouTube tab, so it's best to use the aforementioned online services if you need to.

On Android, the same sites open in the mobile browser without any restrictions. On iOS, direct downloading is more difficult due to Apple's policy, but the free Documents by Readdle app solves the problem: just open any of the listed services in the built-in browser.

Before you click the Download button, you should avoid resources that force you to install unknown applications or require authorisation. You should ignore bright Download Now banners and use an ad blocker or private browsing mode.

As a reminder, YouTube has announced the change in the principle of counting views in the Shorts format. From now on, the service will take into account each launch or repeated playback of a short video. Previously, only those views were counted when the user watched the video for at least a few seconds.

We also wrote that some YouTube users who watch videos in a browser with an active ad blocker might encounter a banner that pauses playback. The message states that this is a violation of the terms of service and suggests either disabling the blocker or subscribing to YouTube Premium.