How To Download YouTube Videos on Android

It is illegal to download YouTube videos (unless you are the copyright holder, or have permission from the owner), so you should comply with the YouTube’s Terms of Service. Being able to download a video may allow you to retrieve one of your videos that were lost on your PC for example.

In this article, we have included several solutions to download YouTube videos on Android.

Disclaimer: It might be dangerous to download apps from outside the Play Store because the code may have been tempered with. You may prefer downloading the APK file from an authorized source (the official site, APKMirror.com) or install it from the Play Store instead.

Android App Solutions

#1. TubeMate

It is the best Android app to download YouTube videos so far. Unfortunately, you cannot find it on the Play Store because downloading videos from YouTube is illegal.

You can download the APK file from the official site to get started. Alternatively, if you still do not trust the official website, you can head to APKMirror where you would always find verified APK files which have not been tampered with in any way.

Steps to download YouTube videos using Tubemate

Step #1: To allow installation of apps from unauthorized sources, you will have to navigate through – Settings->Security->Unknown Sources and then just check on the option to allow installation of apps from unknown sources.

Step #2: Install TubeMate using the APK file and launch the app.

Step #3: Upon starting, it would ask you whether you agree or disagree with the Terms of Use. Click on “Agree” to proceed.

Step #4: After you are done with the on-screen tutorial for the first time. You just need to search for the video you would like to download. Here, we have tried downloading a video from Ubergizmo’s YouTube Channel as you can see in the image below.

Step #5: Click on the download button at the top (green arrow) after you open the video that needs to be downloaded.

Note: If you are running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow, you should ignore battery optimizations for this app so that it would run in the background as well.

Step #6: Choose the resolution you want to download (1080p / 720p / 360p etc). And, it is done!

#2. Savefrom.net Android App

Savefrom.net also offers an Android app. However, it is not as trusted as TubeMate seems to be, but does download YouTube videos on Android.

Steps to download YouTube videos using Savefrom.net App

Step #1: You can start downloading the APK file directly from the official site.

Step #2: Before installing, make sure that you have allowed installation from unknown sources as well.

Step #3: After you have got the app installed, all you have to do is to launch the YouTube app. Now, whichever video you want to be downloaded, share it via Savefrom.net app from the available sharing options.

Step #4: Finally, you can choose the format of the video that you want to proceed with.

#3. Firefox + SaveFrom.net Helper

If you happen to use Firefox Android browser, this method should be the best for you. You just need to download and get an add-on installed.

Nevertheless, if you want a less risky solution without letting sideloading untrusted applications, you should download Mozilla Firefox right away and get started with this solution to download YouTube videos on Android.

Steps to download YouTube videos using Firefox browser with an add-on installed

Step #1: Install Mozilla Firefox browser for Android.

Step #2: Download and install the SaveFrom.net helper add-on from the official site.

Step #3: Open YouTube.com (m.youtube.com) on Firefox and play the desired video. You will observe an additional download button at the bottom of the video as shown in the image below. Click on it to download. It is done!

Web-based Solutions

#1. ClipConverter

ClipConverter online downloader ends up being a simpler approach to download YouTube videos on Android.

It is very easy to use, just type in the YouTube video link as the video URL to be downloaded on the web page and that is all you have to do here.

In addition, you can also download the Mp3 format of the video (only Audio) from the available options offered on the site.

#2. Savefrom.net

Yet another web-based solution to download YouTube videos on Android.

Method #1:

In order to download, you will have to visit Saveform’s YouTube downloader page.

Simply, type the URL of the video to be downloaded.

Now, you will be greeted with the available options (various resolutions) to download the video.

Method #2:

Visit YouTube.com and open/play the video you want to be downloaded. Now, as you can observe, the default YouTube URL looks like:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYZ_123_Example

Just insert “ss” before YouTube as shown below:

https://www.ssyoutube.com/watch?v=S1DLXW_3afa

You will be redirected to savefrom.net where you can continue downloading it.

Conclusion

We can just hope that Google makes it easy to download YouTube videos on Android. However, until then, we have got plenty of simple solutions to help download them.

Are you aware of some other methods to download YouTube videos on Android? We would love to hear from you!

Ankush Das
Categories: Web
Tags: Android, YouTube