How to Download YouTube Videos on iPad

Use a YouTube Premium account to save content

What to Know

  • If you have YouTube Premium, start watching the video in the YouTube app, then select Download below the video player.
  • Select Download again to remove the video from your hard drive. Downloaded videos can be found in the Library or Account tabs. 
  • You can download YouTube videos through third-party apps or websites, but it's not recommended.

This article explains how to download YouTube videos on an iPad through YouTube Premium.

How to Download YouTube Videos on iPad Via YouTube Premium

YouTube Premium is the platform's subscription service. It costs $11.99/month and offers ad-free videos and music, original series and movies, and offline viewing. YouTube offers a free one-month trial if you want to test it out. Once you get your membership squared away, downloading YouTube videos to your iPad is simple. You need to be signed in to your account to watch offline.

  1. Open or start watching the video you'd like to watch on the YouTube app.

  2. Select Download below the video player.

    Downloading videos on YouTube Premium

    In the YouTube Gaming app, the button is found under Details.

  3. Choose your video quality—either 720p or 360p. The higher the quality, the more storage space you'll need.

    Video quality screen in YouTube app
  4. Select OK or Try It Free if you haven't yet subscribed to YouTube Premium.

    Selecting Try it free on YouTube Premium.
  5. Once the download finishes, the Download icon will change to a check mark.

  6. Once downloaded, videos can be found in the Library or Account tabs. Select the Download icon once again to remove the video from your hard drive.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind when you download videos to your iPad via YouTube Premium:

  • Some actions, like commenting and liking, aren't available in offline mode.

  • Downloaded videos renew automatically as long as you go online in your home country at least once every 30 days.
  • Some content may not be available for offline viewing once you reconnect to the internet due to video creator content restrictions.
  • You can only download videos in countries where YouTube Premium is available.

Should You Download YouTube Videos via a Third-Party App?

While you can download YouTube videos to iPad through third-party apps or websites, we don't recommend it. For one thing, it may be illegal. At the very least, it violates Google's terms of service, which states people "shall not download any content unless [they] see a 'download' or similar link displayed by YouTube on the service for that content."

There's also another danger involved with third-party apps and websites: malware. While many apps on the App Store are safe, others can be dangerous and infect your mobile device with adware or ransomware.

Better to play it safe and use YouTube Premium for your offline viewing.

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