Downloading YouTube Videos To Your Android

Yes, we have another post about the android phone. I figure since there are multiple android phones in the household including the one my wife uses with wifi access only I might as well include info about them here, especially if it's something that can benefit others.

How many times have you been watching a video on YouTube only to go back to it later and find it removed either by the user or YouTube itself? There are a number of utilities you can put on your desktop or laptop machine to download and save these movies, but what if you find the movie while you're browsing around on your phone? Or better yet, you want them on your phone to watch later?

I tried a lot of different apps and found that they either didn't work completely or not at all. I finally found one that worked and you guessed it, it was removed from the app store. I really do understand the benefits of having people come back to YouTube for advertising and brand recognition, but does Google really need to be that worried about videos being downloaded? I should have the option when I post my videos to allow online only or available for download. This would eliminate their need to "protect" my copyrights. But that's a whole other subject for a different blog. If you're reading this I'm sure you just want to know how to save the videos to your phone.

TubeMate is the answer to your needs. Since it is not in the app store you will need to change the settings in your phone to allow installation of apps from unknown sources. Don't worry about the security of your phone, it will not open it up to random downloads. You still maintain control of what you install. Once the app is installed, use it instead of your regular YouTube app and when you tap the video to play it will give you the option to play it or download it.

That's it, nice an simple and easy to use until Google changes the YouTube code around again, but the guys at TubeMate have been pretty good about keeping it updated.

-mike