How do I download videos from any website? We've gathered all the possible ways Review and Complete Guide April 2023

Contents

How to download videos from websites?

Despite the fact that most of us are used to watching videos online, sometimes you want to download a movie or a funny clip to your phone so you can watch it without connecting to the Internet.

Many sites, as well as streaming services, provide such an opportunity. For example, on YouTube, the download function is available for subscribers to YouTube Premium, and in the application of almost any online movie theater, you can download a movie or TV series to your phone.

These methods are paid and not supported by all services that host video content. If you want to download videos to your phone for free, explore the download options presented in this material. Among them, you will indeed find a convenient way to use it every day.

How to download videos from the site?

When you need to download videos, there are basically three ways you use:

Online download sites
Video Download Apps
Browser Extensions

Online Download Sites

The favorite video download service for many users remains online, which allows you to download videos via a link. You don’t need to download additional utilities or worry about your security, just paste the link and get the file ready for download.

With these sites, we can download videos from any popular site: Instagram, Facebook, Youtube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Twitter, TikTok, and Reddit, as well as videos from Instagram Story, audio from Youtube and Soundcloud, and other sites.

Video Download Apps

This method has significant disadvantages:

You will have to allocate extra space for the program.
Often such apps themselves are unsafe, as they are created to pirate content downloads.

In addition, they can additionally install programs you don’t need, such as an antivirus or a browser. And free applications for downloading videos can also impose their own watermark on the video.

Browser Extensions

Browser extensions are good because they do not require direct installation on your computer. But most often they do not work correctly, or they only allow you to download videos from certain sites.

How do I download videos to my PC?

The easiest way to do this is to use a video download from your browser using special sites or browser extensions.

How to download videos to an Android phone?

You can also use download videos from the browser, but it is not very convenient, you need to search then the folder, where the video is stored, which causes a certain discomfort. The optimal solution is to use special applications on Google Play. We recommend using such applications: InShot Video Downloader or Plex.

How do I download videos to my iPhone?

Downloading video from the browser on your iPhone is not convenient at all, because, unlike Android, Apple does not use the standard file system. The downloaded file will be quite difficult to find on your iPhone. Therefore, the best way to download videos is to use Plex, Video Saver, and R⤓Download applications.

How legal is it to download videos?

Video content published on the Internet has owners who own the rights to it. Not all authors allow free downloads of their videos. That’s why various video hosting sites do not allow videos to be downloaded for offline viewing. In some cases, downloading videos can be a violation of usage rules and applicable laws. Be careful with this.

It’s relatively safe to download videos that are covered by Creative Commons CC0 (Public Domain) and CC BY (Attribution) free licenses. You can also easily download your own videos that you’ve published before.

How to download YouTube videos from the site?

If the video is uploaded to YouTube and posted on another site, click on the video and go to YouTube. Click the share button and copy the link to the video. Download this video using any online service from our list.

In the same way, you can download the video from any social network.

Video download sites

You can download videos both in browsers on computers and on mobile devices running Android and iOS. An important point: in the case of Apple gadgets, you need to use the standard Safari – downloading files is only supported there.

There are quite a few different sites for downloading videos. They all work as follows:

Start the video playback in your browser and copy the link to it
Open the download site
Paste the link into the appropriate field and click “Continue”
Choose the necessary video quality and press the “Download” button

It should be noted that these sites can be blocked in various countries, so I recommend you to enable VPN. Moreover, after downloading the file VPN should be turned off to increase the download speed. As the speed of your Internet during VPN is slightly reduced.

What sites can I download videos from?

All these services support downloading from all popular platforms: YouTube, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, IMDB, Twitter, Vevo, Reddit, and others.

TubeOffline

This is one of the most popular services for downloading videos. With it, you can download videos from YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter, Vimeo, and many other platforms. In general, as of today, users have access to about a thousand sites for downloading.

If you want to download a file from a certain site and you are not sure if it is available on TubeOffline, use the alphabetical index on the main site. Besides video, you can also download audio files via this service. Users can choose the resolution of the video and convert it through the service to different formats, namely 3GP, MP4, WEBM, and MP3.

SaveFrom

This service also supports downloads from popular platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and so on. Maybe you’ve already used it to download videos from YouTube, once the service became very popular thanks to this function.

Today, the service allows you to download videos from almost any site in formats such as 3GP, MP4, and WEBM.

Another popular service with a minimalist design. With it you can also download videos from YouTube, Vimeo, and many other platforms to watch videos online. In general, the library of supported sites exceeds 100 items, so you can easily download any video with this tool.

This service allows you to download videos in such formats as 3GP, MP4, MP3, WEBM, and M4A in just a couple of clicks.

9xbuddy

A minimalistic online tool that boasts an impressive list of supported sites and allows you to download videos from them in just a couple of clicks. Additional features include a choice of resolutions, and conversion to MP4, 3GP, WEBM, MP3, and M4A. Allows you to download videos from YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo, Twitter, and about 100 other sites.

Savevideo.me

A simple but not less useful service for downloading videos. This online tool doesn’t support downloading videos from YouTube, but many other platforms are available to users. Namely, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Facebook, Coub, and about 30 other sites. Note that, unlike other services, you can’t choose a video format before downloading, only its resolution.

YooDownload

An English-language online video download tool that features a minimalistic design and a variety of supported sites.

With this service, you can download videos from Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other popular social networks. Using this tool, you can choose the format and resolution of the video as well as save the audio track as an MP3 file.

Catchvideo

An online service that allows you to download videos from TikTok, Facebook, Youtube, Dailymotion, and many other sites. It is just like other tools for downloading clips allowing you to choose the format and resolution of video files.

But, pay attention that this service can’t download some videos because of copyright policy.

GetVideo

A multifunctional tool that not only allows you to download videos from popular platforms but also allows you to convert video files to different formats on the fly. The service is available in free and paid versions.

In the latter, you have the possibility to extract the audio track additionally and download the video in high quality.

DistillVideo

A simple and easy-to-use service that has a huge database of sites available for downloading. With this tool, you can download TED or TikTok videos in a couple of clicks. In addition, DistillVideo allows you to choose the quality of the video and extract the audio track from it.

Converto

If you’re looking for an easy online video download service for YouTube, then Converto is your perfect choice. Converto lets you download videos from a certain minute to your computer in the quality you want without any extra effort.

Free Online Video Downloader

A handy online tool for downloading videos from popular and obscure sites in just a couple of clicks. It also lets you choose the quality of the video, save it in various media formats and export the audio track into a separate MP3 file. It supports video downloads from YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Vevo, and about 40 others.

Most of the services in this list provide not only the basic video download function but also allow you to choose the video quality and format and even extract the audio track. In this article, you’ll learn about the most popular services for downloading videos from any site that will get rid of the problem of offline video access forever.

Extensions for downloading videos

There are cases when video download sites fail. This occurs when videos are available after you enter your password or in your office, for example, when you take an online training course.

Do you want to be able to download videos from any website at your fingertips at all times? Then you should consider installing browser extensions. The advantage of this method is that you don’t need to go back to the online service to download videos because the extension is already installed in your browser and allows you to download content directly.

We’ve chosen for you the most popular services, which you can install for free in Google Chrome or Firefox and use for downloading videos.

Video DownloadHelper

One of the most popular video download extensions is Video DownloadHelper. It is available to install for both Google Chrome and Firefox. You just need to download this tool from the official website.

After installation, this service works as follows: when you go to the site with the video, the service detects the video and informs you about it by changing the color of its icon. You need to click on the service icon and choose a video for downloading, and then the download will start. Please note that converting your video into another format is one of the paid functions of the service, and the rest of its services are absolutely free.

VDP

Another option for downloading videos from sites is called VDP. Unlike Video DownloadHelper, this tool has a preview function. It is quite a useful program that has a wide range of sites for downloading videos. Although its functionality is limited compared to Video DownloadHelper (for example, the user will not be able to convert videos to the format he wants or block ad banners), it will appeal to supporters of minimalist design and basic software features.

This tool also allows you to choose the quality of clips and, of course, allows you to download videos, which is what it is required of it.

Stream Recorder

This is a Chrome extension for streaming videos and streams that will not only download videos from any site but also help you to upload “live” broadcasts, which you can’t do with such browser extensions as SaveFrom.net and Download Helper.

Using Stream Recorder, you can save videos transferred via HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) in the mp4 format. Moreover, if the video file type is in mp4 format, you can record the video directly using the unique “video capture” feature.

The uploaded audio and video data are converted to an mp4 file as is, with the same quality without recoding. This conversion is done within the extension, without using an external server.

Video Download Apps

A very convenient way to download videos to your phone is to use download apps. We’ve gathered a few services for Android and iPhone for you.

Download Apps for Android

There are many different applications for Android, we want to tell you about a proven option that we use. Be careful, there are a lot of fraudulent sites on the web.

InShot Video Downloader

The free Inshot browser supports video and music downloads from more than 100 websites. Available for Android cell phones, there is also a handy online version. You can download it directly from your browser by inserting a link in the address bar.

With this app, you can download videos from any website.

Inshot features:

Browser-based site navigation
Search for videos on the site and direct download links
Multithreaded download manager with pause and resume support
Standalone video player
Supports mp3, mp4, mov, avi, wmv and other formats

Instructions: how to download videos in Inshot?

Using the downloader is very easy.

To download videos from the Internet, you need:

Step 1. Download the Inshot mobile app.
Step 2. Copy the link to the page with the video to the clipboard. You can use the built-in browser to go to the site.
Step 3. Click the play button.
Step 4. Click the download button.
Step 5. Get the owner’s permission if necessary.
Step 6. select save path and quality.
Step 7. The video will be available for offline viewing on your phone.
Step 8. go to the Finished folder and open the video for viewing.

A lot of download settings are available in the program: bitrate for the video, and format of the video.

Videoder

Another popular video downloader.

How to use Videoder?

Start Videoder. The first time it starts up, it will ask for access permissions, and place access to the storage.
On the main page of the application, tap the Search or URL field. Type a title to start the search or paste the copied video link.
You can also go to a specific platform by clicking View all sites. Click on the site icon – it will open as in a normal browser: you will need to log in and find the selected video.
Under the open clip – information about what formats are available for download. Select the desired one.
A Prepare to Download window will open with the file name and the saving path – click Start Downloading
The saving process will be displayed in the notification panel.
You can open the downloaded file or see information about it through the download menu on the tab Downloaded
To find the video through the file manager, go to the Videoder folder in the memory of your device.

Download apps for iPhone

Plex: Stream Movies & TV

Plex is a handy mobile add-on. By installing it, you can watch streaming videos, broadcasts, TV shows, and news – in general, any video content will be available via a link in a couple of clicks. And you don’t have to download anything.

The main interface of Plex is a browser. On pages with videos, you’ll see a preview button, and when you click it, you’ll start streaming it to your mobile device.

The result will be a self-contained file that you can conveniently watch on your device’s display. It doesn’t matter if it’s a desktop or a cell phone. When streaming, you can select the quality (bitrate) of the video. There are no other settings in Plex, in fact, they are not needed.

The video player is easy to use and has an interface in various languages. On the home page of the Plex app, you will find detailed instructions on how to use it.

Install Plex and download video broadcasts now.

With Plex, you can download videos to Android and iPhone.

There is another way to download videos from the site, through the Google Chrome developer tool. Let’s say right away that this method is for advanced users, but we had to mention it.

Can I download videos from Google Chrome?

Our review wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t tell you about one more method. We will tell you how to download a video, presentation, movie, or any other video from Google Chrome using the developer tool.

So, it can be done, but there is no direct button when playing the video “Download”, so we’ll have to use workarounds. Settings used for the program version of the site via developer tools can help us, as an additional extension program, which functionality allows you to save videos you like from the Internet. Each method has its pros and cons, so after getting acquainted, choose what suits you best.

Downloading with a developer tool

Let’s start with the most difficult one – we will use the developer tool. This method is more suitable for advanced users who are familiar with the basics of programming. Although a beginner can try to implement this option for downloading media files, however, it will be more difficult to figure it out and the first attempt does not always end with success. So, here we go:

Open Google Chrome.
Go to the page with the video file you want to download.
Press Ctrl+Shift+I or through the browser menu (the button in the upper right corner), select “Advanced Tools”, and “Developer Tools”.
In the window that opens, click on the “Network” tab.
Load a video on the page, and the software window will gradually load media files where you need to find your video.
When you find it, just click on its link and re-save it to your computer.

Often this option requires a regular reboot to update the media content in the window. You can sort the file list to find the desired video more quickly.

To find a file quickly, sort the files by size; the file with the video is likely to be the largest.

Also pay attention to the file format, this will also help you speed up your search. If you find this method to be too complicated and confusing, it is better to use additional extensions for downloading files from your browser. Anyone can do this.

Download from cache

This is another very similar and not less complicated method, which also uses developer tools, but the video is downloaded from the cache in the browser. In order to save the video from the browser, you need to use a special browser mode, designed for programmers:

Launch Google Chrome.
Open the page where you want to download your favorite video.
Click the three vertical dots in the upper right corner.
Select More Tools, then Developer Tools.
In a new tab, a page opens with the source code and developer modules.
Go to the “Network” tab of the console (if the process window has not loaded, refresh the page).

In the window that opens, you will see a list of video files, and gradually new ones will be loaded. You need to pay attention to mp4, flv, webp videos. To find the right video faster, you can sort the list by date and duration. When you find the media file you want, right-click on it and select “open link in new tab” which means “open file in new tab”. The download will automatically start and the video will be uploaded to your computer.

Record video from the screen

If none of these methods work for you, you can simply do a screen capture and record a video.

How to do it?

How to record a screen capture video on a Mac

On your Mac, press Shift-Command-5 to open the screen capture and display the tools. Click the tool to select what you want to capture or record (or use the touchpad).

For part of the screen, drag a frame to change its position, or drag its edges to adjust the size of the area you want to capture or record.

To record a video Click Record. To stop recording, click Stop Recording on the menu bar.

How to record screen video on Windows

Press the Win + G key combination on Windows 10
Open Settings to set the recording options.
Press Start Recording or the Win + Alt + R key combination.
To stop recording, press the same key combination again.

You can also use the Screen Recorder program.

Is it legal to download videos from websites?

Let’s start with the question of legality. Let’s face it: in 99% of cases, downloading videos from any website is illegal. The remaining 1% includes videos you made yourself and videos distributed under a license that allows downloading. YouTube, for example, explicitly states that you can’t download videos without the platform’s consent.

That said, YouTube does nothing at all to shut down services that allow you to download videos from it – unlike content rights holders.

To understand the world of copyright let’s describe two main types of licenses:

Non-exclusive licenses. You can see this type of license on YouTube and other video-hosting sites. The idea: the video hosting host puts the video of the author on its platform, the author has the right to put his video on other platforms, only the author has the full rights to use his creative work.

Free licenses. The most common is Creative Commons. With this type of license, the authorship remains with the author, but other people can also use his work in their videos. The most commonly used license is CC BY, under the terms of which whoever used someone else’s video or a fragment of it must somewhere indicate the author of the original video.

If you are an ordinary viewer who wants to keep a couple of videos for himself, there is not much difference between licenses for you. If you are an author of some content and you are looking for content that you will use in your creative work – make sure to take video under Creative Commons license only, otherwise, your video will be blocked for copyright infringement or monetization (if we are talking about YouTube).

At the end of this section, we’ll tell you how to search for videos with a Creative Commons license to use in your creative work.

The first way is through YouTube:

Go to YouTube, enter what we want in the search, for example – “Sounds of Nature.”
Click on “Filters,” and in the “Features” column, choose “Creative Commons License.
We get the output with videos, fragments of which can be used.

The second way – is through the search engine itself. Here is not so simple – in Google filters, you can not select a license. But you don’t need to – just type “nature sounds creative commons” into the search engine, and it will show you a selection of articles with free video clips by their authors.

This way of searching will take you longer, but there is a significant advantage: you can find videos not only on YouTube.

What quality can I download videos in?

All Available resolutions

In general, the general principle is as follows: you can download video from the site (including from YouTube) either in the quality in which it was uploaded to the site, or in a lower quality. There are no adequate ways to improve video quality above the original – some services may offer such a service, but in practice they try to solve the problem with the help of self-training intelligence, which tries to recover blurry pixels from the surrounding context, which inevitably leads to artifacts.

As for the most common resolutions:

2160p: 3840 x 2160
1440p: 2560 x 1440
1080p: 1920 x 1080
720p: 1280 x 720
480p: 854 x 480
360p: 640 x 360
240p: 426 x 240

There are 4k (3840 × 2160) and 8k (7680 × 4320) videos, which are slowly gaining popularity due to the decreasing prices of wide-screen TVs.

How to download videos in HD quality?

As we mentioned above, you can only download HD videos if they have been uploaded to the site in HD quality. But there’s another problem: not all services allow you to download videos of maximum quality, and sometimes the service has a quality ceiling. In the tool overview below we’ll indicate in what maximum quality the service allows you to download video from the site.

How safe is it to use all these programs, plugins, and stuff?

Phone apps and plugins installed directly from browser stores are perfectly safe because they are checked for viruses and other things by the platform itself that posted them. Services – a relatively safe way, if suddenly a new service will ask you to specify your card data – of course, you should not do this, but all the tested (and described above) services do not give any unpleasant surprises. The worst situation is with computer programs. Almost all sources describing video downloads via programs mention five basic programs, but two of them are no longer supported (and may contain modified code if downloaded from an unreliable source), and one even contains a virus (JDownloader). In total, of the five frequently mentioned programs, only two – Ant Downloader and Ummy Video Downloader – turned out to be “clean” and made it into our selection. So install unknown programs only at your own risk or, even better, use other ways.

Why don’t applications support YouTube?

This problem is related to the fact that both Google Play and YouTube are owned by Google, and the company does not allow downloading videos from YouTube via Android apps, because it violates Google policy. If someone creates an app that lets you download videos from YouTube and tries to put it on Google Play, the app will be quickly removed (or won’t pass inspection at all). Use alternatives, there are plenty of them for YouTube.

Is it possible to download videos without any additional programs and services?

Yes, there are methods that can work, e.g. searching for links to videos within the page code (unless the video is embedded in a script, which happens very rarely) and “ripping” videos from the clipboard or cache. But if you know what we’re talking about – you don’t need the instruction, and if you don’t know what we’re talking about – don’t even try, it’s complicated and very often fails. But if we’re talking about YouTube, there’s one simple, albeit paid, method.

YouTube Premium is a subscription that removes ads and adds extra functionality to the account for which it was purchased. One of the extra features is “Saved Videos,” which you can find in your library. It allows you to save videos to your device automatically.

Conclusion

Downloading videos is legally prohibited (unless we’re talking about a free license), but unless you plan to distribute the downloaded video, use it for your own purposes and the video belongs to the “movies/serials/music with copyrights” group – no one will pay attention to you.

You can use services (third-party sites), plug-ins, programs, and applications to download videos.

Services – convenient, but sometimes there are some quality problems; apps – you can download videos in the best quality, but you might come across a malicious code; plugins – convenient, but hard to configure; apps – you can download videos directly to your phone, but you can’t download videos from YouTube.

Most of the software that allows you to download videos from websites works the same way: give a link to a page with a video, choose the quality, and download.

We’ve listed all the possible ways to download videos from any site, we hope you’ll choose your favorite way.