Published on October 4th, 2019 | by Bibhuranjan

To Download, or Not to: YouTube’s Policy and Video Downloaders

YouTube is a massive search engine and video-hosting platform with billions of unique monthly visitors. It seems like there’s something to consume for every taste in this vast ocean of content.

People failing to do things, silly cats scared of big cucumbers, prodigies who seem to massage your soul by whispering odd voices in your ears… and more.

We’re living in a blissful age.

You can kick back, chill, shoot up your favorite YouTuber’s channel, and let the night begin.

Moreover, you don’t have to pay a single penny to benefit from this product of enlightened times as it has never been this easier to reach knowledge and information, even for a mighty emperor of the ancient eons.

Nevertheless, even today it’s still not possible to download your favorite videos on your device without the help of a reliable YouTube Video Downloader or some shady third-party apps which is guaranteed to request access to your accounts’ sensitive data.

As anyone with common sense should do, you wouldn’t want to give out your password as it’s one of the most failure-free ways of getting scammed and fooled.

However, when the internet is a battleground for hackers as it is today, how can you download videos freely without any additional annoyances like meaningless surveys and such?

Well, is there a plausible argument explaining why YouTube doesn’t let anyone save their favorite videos on their devices anyway?

Why You Can’t Download YouTube Videos In-App?

Before we delve deep into the speculations and the main reasons why YouTube doesn’t allow us to download videos, let’s check their Terms and Conditions first to get a shoal answer.

“Content is provided to you AS IS. You may access Content for your information and personal use solely as intended through the provided functionality of the Service and as permitted under these Terms of Service. You shall not download any Content unless you see a ‘Download’ or similar link displayed by YouTube on the Service for that Content. You shall not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, or otherwise exploit any Content for any other purposes without the prior written consent of YouTube or the respective licensors of the Content. YouTube and its licensors reserve all rights not expressly granted in and to the Service and the Content.”

Hence, YouTube declares that it’s not possible or allowed to download videos; however, there isn’t a hundred-percent clear statement about what would possibly happen if you fail to apply its terms and conditions.

Due to copyright law, it’s technically and practically illegal to download any content without the consent of the person or institution who posted it.

This means, if you download stuff like TV series, music videos, educational videos, or such, it’s possible for you to receive your golden ticket to a civil lawsuit to take your seat in the honorable first row.

Nonetheless, to this day, nobody got sued by YouTube for downloading videos online. The platform appears to be pretty hesitant about this.

Nevertheless, this doesn’t change the fact that they can take it to the law if they catch you red-handed, downloading videos.

Actually, the officials were planning to sue one of the behemoths of the video and ripping industry, but they never took action, fearing the backlash that might come from its users.

Therefore, we can easily say that YouTube won’t sue anyone for downloading videos, as they don’t even bother with the platforms which give you the tools that allow saving those videos.

Is It All About the Ads?

There is another argument that points out the importance of ads for YouTube.

As you know, if we exclude the brand-new YouTube Premium, the only possible stream of revenue for YouTube were advertisements and partnerships.

Consequently, it’s not that surprising to realize that YouTube wants you to stay on the platform for your daily consumption.

If they allowed you to download videos on your device, fewer people would watch online.

Thus, the click-through rate for ads would drop significantly.

In that instance, it would be almost impossible to support this massive platform; therefore, they would bring-in a premium feature to make that lost revenue up, just like they’re doing right now.

To sum up, it is obvious that YouTube wants you to stay on the platform for extended periods as they implement features like Auto Play, relevant suggestions through the algorithm, and such.

In order to achieve this, people are encouraged to engage with each other on the platform, and actions such as buying YouTube views is strongly discouraged.

What Should I Look for in a YouTube Video Downloader?

When you decide to save some YouTube videos for later, the most evident factor that comes to mind is quality.

Nobody would want to endure a 144p video for more than two minutes or so. Therefore, it’s crucial that your service provider doesn’t compress the video or alter the format without asking you first.

Other than that, the file size is one of the most essential factors as it’s known that videos will take up space from your device’s internal or external storage.

One or two videos with large sizes might not raise the alarms immediately, but in the long-run, it’ll be a pain in the back to curate a new video folder and exclude the ones which take up space.

As for the no-brainers, it’s quite clear that no video downloader would net your password or payment information to function as it’s intended.

Also, wasting your precious time on meaningless surveys is a no-no, and should be avoided at all costs.

You shouldn’t expect downloaders with constant pop-ups and surveys to operate properly in the first place.

Conclusion

Downloading YouTube videos won’t be legal or allowed any time soon.

Copyright law and YouTube’s terms and conditions are disregarded to the point that even Google doesn’t give an SEO penalty to video downloaders anymore.

However, it’s also a fact that they want you to stay on the platform for long enough that you make them gain money through your hobbies, fields of interests, and more.

Either way, you should choose wisely what interests you: YouTube’s ad revenue or being freed from shackles of having to watch the same ad for the rest of the month.

Tags: instagram, instagram videos, video download, youtube download, youtube downloader

About the Author

Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.