From educational tutorials down to your favorite music videos, to just catching up with vloggers, YouTube seems like a likely platform for video viewing. However, at times you may want to download a video onto your phone for offline viewing. Though YouTube itself has introduced the downloading feature, the intent of the users is to have the downloaded video directly on the storage of the phone.

This guide will take you through various means of downloading YouTube videos to your phone using both official and third-party methods.

1. Official Method: YouTube Premium

The easiest and most legitimate means of downloading videos from YouTube is through subscribing to YouTube Premium. In turn, you will be allowed to download videos within the YouTube application for offline playback. While these do not save into your phone storage, these are accessible outside of an internet connection in so far as you are within the application.

How to Download Using YouTube Premium:

• Open the YouTube app on your phone.
• Open the YouTube app and search or browse to find the video you want to download.
• Tap the Download button below the video player.
• Select the quality: Low, Medium, or High.
• The video will be saved for offline viewing within the app.

Advantages:

• Totally legal and aboveboard.
• No viruses or copyright problems.
• You can watch videos offline when you are signed in with an account.

Disadvantages:

• Videos remain within the YouTube application and cannot be transferred to your phone’s file storage.
• You require a YouTube Premium subscription.

2. YouTube Go For Limited Regions

YouTube Go is another official option provided by YouTube, mainly targeted at regions where internet connectivity is poor. Like YouTube Premium, it offers offline playback capability, but the videos are saved within the app and not on the internal storage of your phone.

How to Download Using YouTube Go:

• Download and install the YouTube Go app from the Google Play Store.
• Open the app and find the video you want to download.
• Click on the quality in which you want the video downloaded and tap Download.
• The video will be saved in the app for offline access.

Advantages:

• Free of cost to use in some areas.
• Designed for low-bandwidth situations.

Disadvantages:

• Available in only some countries.
• Videos stay in-app and cannot be transferred into your file storage.

3. Third-Party Apps and Websites Unofficial Method

To do this, you may have to rely on third-party apps or websites if you want to download YouTube videos directly to the memory of your phone. Further, be aware that if downloading videos through these methods includes copyright material, it will be considered a violation of YouTube’s terms of service.

Popular Apps/Websites for YouTube Video Download:

TubeMate

• TubeMate is not available on Google Play, so download the TubeMate app from its official website since it has violated YouTube policies.
• Open the application, and it will have an option to download the video you’re looking for.
• You can choose resolution and format: MP4, 3GP, and many more.
• The video will be under Download Folder in your internal storage.

VidMate

• Download VidMate from its official website .
• Search for the YouTube video you want to download in the application.
• Tap the Download button, and select the resolution.
• The video will then be saved into your phone’s storage for offline use.

Online Tools (y2mate.com, savefrom.net)

• Go to one of these websites using a browser.
• Paste the link of the YouTube video into the input field.
• Choose the quality and format of the video.
• Download it directly to your internal or external phone storage.

Advantages:

• You fully manage videos since they are stored in the internal or external phone storage.
• You can transfer or share the video files to other devices.

Disadvantages:

• Almost all ways involve going against the terms of service that YouTube imposes.
• It may be copyright infringement in case one downloads copyrighted material without permission.
• Risks of malware/viruses from untrusted third-party sites.

Legal and Ethical Considerations.

It is important to note that YouTube, except for instances where it explicitly allows downloading, such as in YouTube Premium and YouTube Go, considers downloading videos without permission a violation of its terms of service. Downloading videos using third-party applications or websites, especially those which contain copyrighted material, will result in the suspension of an account or possible legal consequences.

Downloads should not be made without rights to do so, or through legal/official means provided within YouTube.

Conclusion

You can download videos from YouTube using either YouTube Premium or third-party apps for your phone. The official methods will keep you within the guidelines, while the third-party apps offer more flexibility but at the risk of possible legal and safety concerns. Be sure to weigh your options carefully and make safety and legality top in your considerations.

Be it catching up on videos offline or for saving the content for future reference, now you know how to download YouTube videos to your phone’s storage with ease.