How to Download YouTube Videos on Android (2026 Guide)

Android gives you more freedom than iPhone when it comes to saving files, and that shows when you want to download a YouTube video. Chrome saves files straight to your Downloads folder, gallery and video apps pick them up automatically, and you can even share a link from the YouTube app to a downloader without copying anything. This guide covers the fastest method, the app-like setup for people who download often, where Android actually puts the files, and what to do when something goes wrong. It applies to Samsung, Pixel, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Motorola, and every other phone running a recent version of Android, with small differences in menu names.

Quick answer

1. In the YouTube app, tap Share under the video and choose Copy link.
2. Open Y-Download in Chrome and paste the link into the box.
3. Pick a format: MP4 720p or 1080p for video, or MP3 320 kbps for audio only. Estimated file sizes are shown next to each option.
4. Tap Download. Chrome shows a progress notification and saves the file to your Downloads folder.
5. Open the file from the notification, from Files → Downloads, or from your gallery app, which usually lists it under Videos within a minute.

Method 1: Chrome, nothing to install

This works on every Android phone and needs no setup.

1. Copy the link. In the YouTube app, tap the Share arrow under the video, then Copy link. In a browser, tap the address bar and copy the URL. Shorts, YouTube Music, and public playlist links work as well.
2. Paste it into Y-Download. Open y-download.com in Chrome, long-press the input field, and tap Paste. Analysis takes about two seconds, after which you see every resolution YouTube offers for that video, the audio formats, and the estimated size of each.
3. Choose your format. For most phones, 1080p MP4 is the best balance of quality and size; 720p looks fine on a small screen and is about half the size.
4. Download. Tap Download, watch the live progress, and Chrome takes over as soon as the file is ready. The download continues in the notification shade even if you switch apps, and the file is saved with the video title as its name.

Samsung Internet, Firefox, Edge, and Brave behave the same way and also save to the Downloads folder.

Method 2: Install Y-Download as an app and share links to it

If you download regularly, install the site as an app. Chrome supports this for sites built as progressive web apps, and Y-Download is one of them.

1. Open y-download.com in Chrome.
2. Tap the three-dot menu and choose Add to Home screen or Install app (the wording varies by Chrome version).
3. Confirm. A Y-Download icon appears on your home screen and in the app drawer.

Once installed, Y-Download shows up in Android's share sheet. Next time you are watching something in the YouTube app, tap Share and choose Y-Download instead of Copy link. Y-Download opens with the link already pasted, the formats appear a couple of seconds later, and a download is one tap away. It is the same website underneath, with no account, and you can uninstall it like any other app.

Which format to choose on Android

• MP4 up to 1080p. Y-Download prefers H.264 video with AAC audio at these resolutions. Every Android phone from the last decade plays this combination in the built-in player, in Google Photos, and in Samsung Gallery.
• MP4 at 1440p, 4K, or 8K. YouTube only provides these resolutions in the VP9 and AV1 codecs, and Y-Download keeps them as-is, without re-encoding. Most phones from roughly 2017 on decode VP9 in hardware, and recent flagships handle AV1 as well. Older or budget phones may stutter; if that happens, VLC or MX Player can decode in software, or you can simply pick 1080p. The video quality and codecs guide goes deeper.
• 60 fps is preserved when the video has it, which matters for gaming and sports clips.

If you are unsure, choose 1080p; on a six-inch screen 4K is hard to tell apart from it, and the file is several times larger.

Downloading audio only (MP3)

Open the YouTube to MP3 converter, paste the link, and choose 320 kbps (recommended) or 128 kbps for smaller files, which is plenty for talks and podcasts. The MP3 arrives with the title, artist, and square cover art embedded, so it appears correctly in Samsung Music, Poweramp, YouTube Music's local files, or any other player, most of which scan the Downloads folder automatically. If you prefer the original audio with no re-encoding, the M4A option gives you YouTube's AAC stream exactly as it is.

Where Android saves downloaded videos

Chrome saves everything to the Downloads folder in internal storage (the path is usually Internal storage/Download). To get there:

• Pull down the notification shade and tap the "Download complete" notification.
• Or open Chrome's menu → Downloads for a list of everything Chrome has saved, with an Open button next to each file.
• Or use your file manager: Files by Google on Pixel and many other phones, My Files on Samsung, File Manager on Xiaomi. Look for the Downloads category.

Gallery apps (Google Photos, Samsung Gallery) index videos in Downloads automatically, though it can take a minute. If a video refuses to appear, move it to the Movies or DCIM folder with your file manager, or restart the phone to trigger a fresh media scan. To change where Chrome saves files, go to Chrome → Settings → Downloads and switch the location, for example to an SD card, or enable "Ask where to save files".

Troubleshooting

• Chrome says it needs permission to store files. On Android 9 and older, tap Allow when prompted, or enable Storage under Settings → Apps → Chrome → Permissions.
• The video plays in a new tab instead of downloading. Tap the three-dot menu in that tab and choose Download, or go back and tap the Download button again.
• The download paused. Chrome pauses on unstable connections and resumes automatically; in Chrome → Downloads you can tap Resume. A battery saver mode that restricts background data can also pause it.
• Not enough storage. A 1080p video can run to hundreds of megabytes. Free space or choose 720p.
• Video not available. Private, members-only, and age-restricted videos cannot be downloaded, live streams only after they end, and videos over four hours or files over 4 GB are outside the limits.

Prepared files are deleted from Y-Download's servers after 30 minutes. If you missed the window, paste the link again and the file is rebuilt.

A note on YouTube Premium and copyright

YouTube's own offline feature is part of YouTube Premium: tap Download in the YouTube app and the video is stored inside the app while you subscribe. It is the official option and the right one for copyrighted content you simply want to watch on a flight. Saving an actual file is for videos you own, have permission to keep, or that carry a license allowing it. How you use the files is up to you; our overview of whether downloading YouTube videos is legal explains the details.