Sure, you can watch YouTube videos on your iPhone anywhere you have an internet connection—but we’re not always connected. If you want an opportunity to watch your favorite YouTube clips without worrying about your wifi or cell signal, there are two easy methods to download them to your iPhone right now.
Is downloading YouTube videos legal?
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This one’s a bit complicated. If you download videos to your iPhone using YouTube’s service (more on that below), it’s 100% OK. However, the platform does not approve of downloading videos from its servers outside of that capacity. It’s actually against YouTube’s terms of service for app developers to make YouTube downloaders and put them on app stores.
That said, the company won’t do a thing about it if you do download videos from third-party solutions. Where they will take action is if you upload those videos, especially copyrighted videos, back online. So, play it safe: Download these videos only for your own personal use.
How to download videos using YouTube Premium
YouTube’s preferred method for downloading videos on your iPhone is, of course, by paying for the service. With YouTube Premium, you’ll find a convenient “Download” button next to most videos on the platform, so you can quickly save your favorite videos for offline viewing anytime.
There are other perks to YouTube Premium, including avoiding ads before videos and the high-quality “1080p Premium” bitrate, for $13.99 per month. It’s an expensive way to download your YouTube videos, but it is the way YouTube approves of.
How to download videos using JAYD (Just Another YouTube Downloader)
JAYD is a fantastic shortcut on iOS that makes it easy to download any YouTube video to your camera roll or Files app. But you won’t just need to install the shortcut to get started—you’ll also need to download a free app called Scriptable:
Once both are installed, go to YouTube, find the video you want to download, then hit Share. Because YouTube hides the iPhone’s built-in share sheet, you’ll need to scroll on the app options then tap “More.” From here, scroll down, then choose “JAYD.”
If this is the first time you’re using the shortcut, you’ll need to give JAYD permission to contact its site as well as YouTube on your behalf. Once you do, choose whether to download the YouTube video or just the audio, then choose where you’d like JAYD to save the video: You can either save it to your camera roll or to a new JAYD folder in Files. You’ll then need to give JAYD permission to share the video with Scriptable, then once more to Google’s servers to make the connection. Finally, allow JAYD to officially save the file.
Or use a YouTube downloader site (but be cautious)
Mobile browsing on iPhone has come a long way. In many respects, it’s just as capable as browsing on a Mac or PC. For example, you can actually use a YouTube downloader in Safari and download a YouTube video just as you would on desktop.
This method isn’t recommended, however. The YouTube downloaders online can be spammy, blasting you with sketchy ads and giving off an overall malicious vibe. Still, it does work, so it’s a notable option, but I’d recommend you stick with JAYD.