YouTube is one of the best, if not the best, music streaming sites. With millions of videos available on YouTube, playlists are usually endless.
Our urge to also watch content is equally endless this, therefore, it creates the need to have offline videos for later viewing.
Another reason why we at times need to cache YouTube videos for offline viewing is that we usually travel to places with blotchy internet speeds. This makes it hard to stream perfectly and we, therefore, need to watch YouTube offline.
Read Also: How to activate YouTube TV on PS3/4, Roku, and Xbox
Since anyone can upload their video on YouTube, there many restrictions on how the content can be accessed or more specifically be downloaded.
The uploaders usually control most of the restrictions on their privacy settings. This makes it quite hard to get just any video offline. However, it doesn’t mean that you can’t get your favorite video offline.
How to watch YouTube videos for offline on PC, Android, iPhone
Here are a couple of ways you can access YouTube content offline:
Method #1: YouTube app download option
This method utilizes the available tools on the app to provide the content for offline viewing. Follow the simple steps to watch YouTube offline.
- Download the YouTube app from Google PlayStore or from AppStore for iOS. Most Android devices come with the YouTube app preinstalled. You may need to update your version of the app to enjoy the features.
- Launch the app and navigate to the video search bar. Type in the name of the video you want to save and select it to play.
- Once you have selected your video go to the toolbar below the video and look for the download video option.
- Tap on it to download and save the video
- Once you are offline open the YouTube app and using the bottom menu bar select the library option.
- Once you open the downloads menu your videos will be displayed for you to go through. The location of the video may be different depending on the version of the YouTube app installed.
To find your videos on some versions of the app you will have to navigate to the account tab. Once you ate the account tab you will find the available offline bar. Under the bar, the saved videos or playlists will be available.
Method #2: Save offline option
This is another approach when trying to cache YouTube videos on PC offline. With the PC, it is not easy to achieve this because of a number of factors. Variations in the browsers may affect the process.
Since YouTube on the PC is usually accessed through the browsers the developers have limited how one can access the content. However, to save offline on your PC, follow these steps:
- Go to the YouTube webpage and search the video you want to watch.
- Play the video to confirm if it is the content that you specifically need.
- After previewing the video navigate to the save button. It is located between the share and report options.
- Your video will cache and be available for offline viewing. An important note with this method is the fact that you may require a third-party browser extension to enable the process. Once you install a suitable extension, the cached video will be picked and downloaded. With this option, you need to be careful since some of the available add-ons are malicious programs that could harm your machine. Check for authenticity before installing any program.
Read: Downloading Twitch VOD clips to your computer
Method #3: Using third-party apps
There are a couple of apps available that allow you to cache YouTube content for offline viewing. Remember that you should only use these apps on videos that aren’t copyrighted.
Some of the most popular apps for saving videos offline on both Android and iOS include:
- KeepVid
- iTube
- McTube
- TubePlayer
- MxTube
These are the simple steps on how to watch YouTube videos offline on PC. However, with your PC, once you close your browser, the videos might disappear until you complete the whole process again.
When using YouTube apps, you will need to connect to the internet once in a while to renew your offline videos. Without renewing the videos, the video will be available but will fail to play.
There are many iTube alternatives if it isn’t working on your device.
It is also important to note that this download option is not available on every video. This one of the useful ways to cache YouTube videos for offline use such as cooking recipes and other tutorials.
YouTube is a reliable site, therefore, there are only a few apps to cache YouTube videos. Mostly the videos are usually secured to avoid copyright infringement.
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