Note that this feature doesn’t actually let you download files and keep them on your computer (as a file) or move them from place to place. Once the feature is turned on, any YouTube video you watch on your computer’s browser, will include a “Download” button – If you’re a YouTube Premium subscriber and you want to try this feature, you need to go to YouTube’s experiments page and turn “Download Videos from Your Browser” on.ĭo note that as of this writing, the feature is only available until October 19, and is supported on the most recent versions of Chrome, Edge or Opera browsers. Recently (as discovered by Android Police) YouTube started experimenting with letting users download videos on desktop computers as well.
The Premium tier gives users a few benefits, such as watching everything without adverts, getting the full library of YouTube Music, and – being able to download videos and watch them offline – but only on mobile devices, until now. YouTube Premium is Google’s subscription service for YouTube, which normally costs £11.99/month in the UK. On mobile devices (smartphones and tablets), users can already download videos “officially” on the YouTube app – but only if you’re a YouTube Premium subscriber.
So for most people, downloading YouTube videos usually involves using questionable (sometimes) websites that let you download videos via a link, often while bombarding you with dubious adverts. But then, if you don’t have an internet connection, or it’s too slow – you won’t be able to watch the video. Normally, YouTube only lets you stream videos in real-time.
We’re hoping, however, that it will become a permanent feature in the future (See ahead for how to turn this on). The catch? The feature is only available for YouTube Premium users (for now), and – since it’s an experimental test – it’s only available for a limited time. So now, YouTube is testing a new feature that would let some of its users download videos for offline viewing on a desktop browser. Ever felt the need to download a YouTube video on your desktop/laptop computer? Of course you did.