Android
Open the YouTube app, tap Share › Copy link, then open this page in Chrome and paste it. Pick a quality and tap the download button. Chrome shows a bar at the bottom while it saves; when it’s done the video is in Files › Downloads and in your Gallery. Samsung Internet, Opera and Firefox work the same way.
iPhone and iPad
Use Safari (iOS 13 or newer). Paste the link, pick 1080p or lower and tap Download when Safari asks. Tap the blue arrow next to the address bar to watch progress. Then open Files › Downloads, tap the video, and choose Share › Save Video to copy it into Photos. Choose 1080p or lower; Photos won’t import YouTube’s 4K format.
Windows and Mac
Copy the address from the browser bar (Ctrl+L / Cmd+L, then copy), paste it here and click the quality you want. Chrome and Edge show the download in the top right, Safari in the Downloads list, Firefox under the arrow icon. 1080p MP4 plays in Windows Media Player and QuickTime with no extra codecs.
YouTube Shorts and long videos
Shorts links (youtube.com/shorts/…) work as they are and give a vertical 9:16 MP4. Long videos are fine too; a 2-hour 1080p video is about 2 GB, so make sure you have the space and keep the tab open until it finishes.
If a download fails
- “Video unavailable”: the video is private, age-restricted or blocked in your country.
- The download stops halfway: the connection dropped or the phone went to sleep. Tap the same quality again.
- YouTube is busy: at peak hours YouTube slows requests. Wait a minute and try again.
For audio only, go to the YouTube to MP3 converter page. To compare all formats, see the Y2Mate converter.