YouTube now allows its premium subscribers to video download videos on the web. The option to download videos on a WiFi connection gives users the freedom to watch them offline whenever and wherever they want and it helps them save their cellular data.
Previously, the video download feature was available on the iOS and Android versions of the app. Now, users at home with a poor WiFi connection can download YouTube videos on the web to watch them later, without any streaming hiccups, on the larger screen on their laptop or desktop computer.
YouTube’s new video downloads on the web are available for a limited time
YouTube is testing the new feature for premium subscribers in India, France, and other regions, and it’s compatible with Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS. However, the new experimental feature is only available for a limited time, until October 19, 2021. The feature is also limited to just Chrome, Edge, and Opera browsers, all of which are Chromium based. It will not work in Safari or Firefox.
Here is how YouTube Premium subscribers can download videos from their browsers
- Open the YouTube experimental features page and make sure that you are signed in to your YouTube account.
- Scroll down to find the new ‘Download videos from your browser’ experiment and enable it.
- Open a video on YouTube and click on the ‘Download’ button in the toolbar below to save it.
- Users can watch the video in the ‘Downloads‘ section of the web app.
- In Downloads Settings, users can select the quality of the video downloads, and delete all downloads at once.
Note that the downloaded videos are not saved as video files on your computer. They stay inside the browser, and you have to connect to the Internet once every 30 days to make sure that the downloaded files can be played back.
Previously, it was found that Google is testing a cheaper YouTube ‘Premium Lite’ subscription plan in select European regions for €6.99/month. The new plan allows users to watch ad-free content with offline download capability for a new affordable price in Belgium, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Luxembourg, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Unlike the regular premium plan, the new plan does not include background play or access to YouTube Music Premium and Originals.
