Lots of people use 3rd-party tools to download YouTube videos—but is information technology legal to do and so?

Sometimes, the case is clear-cutting (for example, downloading TV shows or music videos is illegal), but what about other types of content? Is it always illegal to download YouTube videos, or are in that location occasions when you're allowed to do and so?

Let'due south have a closer await at the legality of downloading YouTube videos.

What Does YouTube Say About Downloading Videos?

Information technology's essential to differentiate the two sides of the question. On the one hand, there's the question of how YouTube views the situation. On the other, there are the national laws of the country in which the downloading is taking place.

So, nosotros'll starting time with YouTube. When yous picket a video on YouTube, you concord to abide by the visitor's terms.

Here'south the important part of YouTube's Terms of Service:

Y'all are not allowed to [...] admission, reproduce, download, distribute, transmit, circulate, display, sell, license, change, modify or otherwise use any part of the Service or whatsoever Content except: (a) as expressly authorized by the Service; or (b) with prior written permission from YouTube and, if applicable, the respective rights holders.

There's no room for interpretation; YouTube explicitly forbids you from downloading videos unless you have permission from the company itself.

Tin can YouTube Ban You for Downloading Videos?

If y'all contravene the Terms of Service, YouTube has a range of legal options available to it. Theoretically, everything from a ban to a civil lawsuit could exist on the table.

That said, YouTube has never sued anyone for downloading content. Several years ago, the company did consider suing one of the largest YouTube video downloaders (YouTube-MP3.org) for breach of the Terms of Service, but backed downwardly afterwards the site refused to budge.

Interestingly, YouTube-MP3.org eventually close down in 2017 after Sony Music and Warner Bros launched a copyright infringement lawsuit confronting it.

Is Downloading YouTube Videos Against the Law?

youtube downloader

We've learned that YouTube doesn't like video downloaders, even if it may be happy to turn a blind center to them for now. But what about the law? Are you committing a crime if you download a video from YouTube?

As is often the way—information technology depends. Let's look at how U.s. law views the downloading of YouTube videos.

When Is Downloading YouTube Videos Illegal?

In the U.s.a., copyright police dictates that it is illegal to make a copy of content if yous do not take the permission of the copyright owner.

That applies to both copies for personal use and to copies that you either distribute or financially benefit from.

As such, downloading TV series, movies, sports clips, or any other copyrighted content on YouTube is breaking the law. Information technology puts you at risk of facing a criminal trial. The state of affairs is the aforementioned beyond the UK and the Eu.

In practice, the chance of facing a criminal lawsuit—especially as an private—is extraordinarily slim, simply you are breaking the constabulary regardless.

We've established that downloading video means you're always breaching YouTube'due south terms. We also know that if you download copyrighted content, you lot're breaking the law. But are at that place whatsoever times when information technology's legal to download YouTube videos?

Yes! Y'all can employ third-party YouTube downloaders to download videos for which the copyright laws practise not utilise, or videos for which the copyright grants you the right to reproduce the video.

At that place are a few different types of videos you can legally download on YouTube:

  • Public domain: Public domain works occur when the copyright has expired, been forfeited, been waived, or been inapplicable from the start. No one owns the video, meaning members of the public can reproduce and distribute the content freely.
  • Creative Eatables: Artistic Commons applies to works for which the creative person has retained copyright, but has given the public permission to reproduce and distribute the work.
  • Copyleft: Copyleft grants anyone the right to reproduce, distribute, and modify the work, as long as the same rights apply to derivative content. Read our article explaining copyright vs. copyleft if you would similar to learn more than.

With a chip of digging on YouTube, yous can detect lots of videos that autumn under 1 of the above categories. Remember, downloading the videos volition still break YouTube'south Terms of Service, simply will not constitute a criminal act.

The Moral Argument of Downloading Videos

Of class, there's also a moral question surrounding the process of downloading YouTube videos.

In much the same way that sites like MUO rely on ads to keep providing readers with free content, many YouTube personalities live off their channel revenues.

By downloading the video and sharing information technology with friends offline, yous deny the creator clicks, and past extension, reduce their income. In an farthermost state of affairs, the creator could sue for loss of earnings.

Are the Authorities Fighting a Losing Battle?

A quick look at any search engine volition reveal a bevy of sites, tools, and apps that allow you download YouTube videos.

Information technology'southward probably why nosotros've non heard from YouTube about any new lawsuits against the tools' operators. It appears that the company has decided that the difficulty of creating legally watertight cases confronting the sites is more problem than it's worth.

Anecdotal testify even suggests many of the YouTube downloader sites are being allowed to run Google Ads. Perhaps Alphabet is more concerned with monetizing those sites' vast traffic than penalizing them.

As was the case with piracy in the 2000s, the whole affair is developing into a game of whack-a-mole between the apps/sites/tools and TV networks and record labels. As presently equally one site is forced offline, a dozen new offerings popular upwardly in its place.

Let's epitomize what we've learned:

  • Downloading videos from YouTube is in breach of YouTube's Terms of Service, and the company could sue you.
  • YouTube has shown no desire to penalize users for downloading videos.
  • Downloading copyrighted videos without permission is a criminal human action.
  • Some videos with the correct licenses are legal to download from a criminal standpoint.

And all of this likely applies to all the other video sites out there, so be conscientious.

12 Video Sites That Are Better Than YouTube

Read Next

Well-nigh The Author

Dan Price (1604 Articles Published)

Dan joined MakeUseOf in 2014 and has been Partnerships Director since July 2020. Achieve out to him for inquires near sponsored content, chapter agreements, promotions, and any other forms of partnership. You can also observe him roaming the show floor at CES in Las Vegas every year, say hi if you lot're going. Prior to his writing career, he was a Financial Consultant.

More From Dan Price