The Download
- The only legal way to download YouTube videos on your Mac is with a YouTube Premium subscription.
- Click Download under the video to begin the process.
- View saved videos through the Downloads tab in the menu.
This article explains how to download YouTube videos on your Mac with a Premium subscription.
How Do I Download YouTube Videos to My Mac Without Software?
The best way to download YouTube videos to your Mac is through the platform itself. With a YouTube Premium subscription, every video has a download button below the video player, which is used to save the video for offline playback.
Depending on where you live, a downloaded video can be played offline for anywhere from two to 29 days, after which you’ll need to connect to the internet again to continue accessing it.
With an active Premium subscription, follow these steps to download videos from YouTube:
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Navigate to YouTube in your browser and open the video you’d like to download.
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Select Download below the video player.
The Download button exists below the video, next to other options like Share and Like.
Depending on how the window is positioned, the download option might be hidden in the three-dot menu.
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Once the video has finished downloading, click the menu icon (3 horizontal lines) in the top left of the screen and select Downloads.
Access your downloaded YouTube videos through the menu on the left.
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The Download button changes to Downloaded to indicate that it’s available for offline viewing. You can test this by turning off your Mac’s Wi-Fi and checking if the video plays.
Downloaded videos are available from their own section on the YouTube website.
Select Settings on this page to pick the download quality of the videos you save, to turn on smart downloads, or to delete all your downloaded YouTube videos at once.
FAQ
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How do I download music from YouTube?
Your YouTube Premium account will also let you download tracks from the YouTube Music app. The same rules apply: Once you download a video or song, you can access it offline as long as you’ve accessed the site with your account within the past month. The background listening feature of YouTube Premium also means that you won’t have to keep the app open to listen to playlists you create.
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How do I download a YouTube video to an iPhone?
With your YouTube Premium account, you can also download videos through the iOS app. Once you’ve signed into your account on the YouTube app, tap Download from the options below the video. You can view all of your downloaded items regardless of platform, as long as you’re signed in.
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