(Especially if you're not really buying.) The programs, services, and sites in this story are all free of spam and virus problems as of this writing, but caveat emptor-let the buyer beware. If there's even a whiff of it, even a PUP, it's out. Not collect your personal data beyond your email address. Output to MP3 for audio (or offer companion software that does so). Work with the top three video sites: YouTube, Facebook, and Vimeo.ĭownload entire playlists or channels in a batch (on YouTube), at least with a paid version. To prevent this from becoming a laundry list of programs and sites that can download YouTube videos, we came up with a few rules for inclusion. The same goes for the helper websites-a change in a site's ad network can also create issues with malware. Some of those changes are not always pleasant, such as software so full of 'extras,' it gets flagged as malware by antivirus tools. Note: This story is updated frequently, as the tools involved change regularly. If you must download a YouTube video-absolutely need to, just for yourself, and not for dissemination, and not to be a jerk-here's how. You simply do not need to download a video most of the time.īut you have your reasons. If you want to share a video, YouTube and most other video sites make it easy, from embedding to emailing to sharing via social networks.

Obviously, stealing videos from YouTube is a big no-no. There's a reason YouTube runs ads: People make a living this way. Watching YouTube videos offline through unofficial channels takes money from Google and video creators. It's more black and white when you consider Google's terms of service for YouTube (Opens in a new window), which read: 'You are not allowed to.access, reproduce, download, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, alter, modify or otherwise use any part of the Service or any Content except: (a) as expressly authorized by the Service or (b) with prior written permission from YouTube and, if applicable, the respective rights holders.' On the copyright front, as long as you're downloading a video for your own personal offline use, you're probably okay. But when the topic of downloading YouTube videos comes up, there's a side subject that must be broached: Is it legal? That said, sometimes you really want or need to have one of those videos on your own computer or phone. And that's hardly the most astounding statistic about the site, which has been the go-to destination for uploading and watching videos online since 2005. There are billions of hours of video on YouTube, literally.

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