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The Best Way to Download YouTube Videos on Android

by Mrinal Saha

There are many ways to download YouTube’s videos on computer  like Keepvid, IDM or even 4k video downloader for an entire playlist. But when it comes to smartphones the picture is not quite clear.

Download Videos from YouTube in android

If you are wondering why YouTube don’t officially allow downloading, then think of it this way. YouTube is video sharing service that makes money by displaying ads on the video. Right.

Now if they officially allow downloading, then most people will download the video and few of them will come back. This means less playback and less revenue.

But sometimes we genuinely need to download a video like while traveling to a place with no internet connectivity. So if that’s your case, this guide will help.

Download YouTube Videos on Android  

#1 Save video for offline 

If you live in India then you can officially download YouTube videos. OK, this is not exactly downloading rather you can cache it for some time.

Open YouTube app and play the video you want to save. At the bottom of the video, you will notice a small download icon. Tap on that and select the format. That’s it.

Later when you have no internet, simply open YouTube app and go to the offline section. You will find the downloaded video there.

Save video for offline viewing

However, there are few problems with it. For instance, this update is only for users in India. And the saved videos are only available for next 48 hours after it’s downloaded.

#2 TubeMate

TubeMate is a popular android app to download Youtube videos. There are several advantages to this app:

1. Option to download video in various resolution. There is also an option to download the only audio.

2. You can launch Tubemate directly from YouTube app using the share option. Save time.

3. Tubemate looks like traditional YouTube app, you can login to your Google account, create playlist etc etc. Plus you can download videos.

Side note: Sometimes videos stream faster in TubeMate as compare to YouTube official app. So if you are on a slow internet connection TubeMate may give you better streaming experience. This is my personal experience though.

Where can I download TubeMate?

Since Google owns YouTube and play store, you won’t see TubeMate in the app store. But you can download its apk from its official website and sideload it.

Following video explains how to install and use TubeMate effectively. (video starts at 3.14)

#3 Online service

There is no point of having TubeMate, if you do not frequently download videos. So in that case, use online services like KeepVid, SaveTube etc.

I suggest you use StreamPocket to download YouTube videos. Both in PC and mobile. Unlike other services,  it has clean and simple interface. No annoying ads or popup. I have tested it on both chrome and Firefox browser (Android) and it works like a charm.

All you have to do is, copy paste the video URL in the space provided and follow the on-screen instructions. See the screenshot below on how to use StreamPocket to download YouTube video.

use StreamPocket to download YouTube videos

Bonus Tip

Let say you want to download a part of the video, like a small clip from the middle. In such case, you don’t have to download the entire video and waste your precious bandwidth. Instead use clipconverter. This online tool can download specific part of YouTube video, even as an audio file.

Conclusion

We have seen several ways to download YouTube video. Each having their own advantages and disadvantages. For instance, if you frequently download videos, then use TubeMate. But for rare use online service is sufficient.

Related: How to play YouTube video in background in Android

Edit

There is a better alternative to TubeMate i.e. OG YouTube. Other than just downloading videos, you can listen to YouTube when the screen is OFF and pop out the YouTube’s video window to your current screen.

Video demo of OG YouTube (YouTube link)

 

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