YouTube has banned the practice of downloading videos from its website, making it difficult for users to save a video for offline viewing on their mobile device. If you are an Android user, there is a clever workaround that’ll allow you to download videos despite YouTube’s restrictions.
To download a YouTube video for offline usage, you’ll need to download and install the mobile version of TubeMate from the service’s website. Be sure it is an authentic version and not a copycat in the Google Play Store or another website. To download the app, just visit TubeMate and click the “Android Freeware” link to download the apk (application file) to your device. Your phone may warn you about downloading an app outside the Play Store, but you can select “Ok” and ignore that alert.
Before you can install TubeMate, you must enable sideloading by opening Settings -> Security -> Device Administration and then selecting the option to allow apps from Unknown Sources. Once this option is selected, you can use a file management application to navigate to the “Downloads” folder on your Android device and open the TubeMate apk that you downloaded. Tap the apk to open and select install.
After installation is complete, you can launch the app and step through the setup guide which will allow to configure the app to you personal preferences. Once setup is done, TubeMate provides access to the web version of YouTube, allowing you to browse or search for videos you want to download. You also can enter your Google account credentials to retrieve your YouTube subscriptions feed.
After you have located a video to download, you simply tap the green arrow at the top to download it. Before the download begins, you can choose the quality setting based on the file size and video quality desired. As a general rule of thumb, high-quality videos are larger and will take longer to download than their low-quality counterparts. As the video is downloading, a progress bar will appear in the notification center.
TubeMate keeps a list of all the videos you have downloaded, making it easy for you to watch them whenever you want. You also can use Android’s built-in video player or a third-party app to view the videos you have cached on your device.
