How to download videos from Google Chrome

Why download videos at all? For example, to watch it offline: where there is expensive Internet in roaming, no Wi-Fi or no connection at all. Or maybe you bought a paid subscription on the site and want to download more videos before it ends. Or you just want to save the video, because even on YouTube, not all videos are stored forever: some are deleted at the request of the copyright holder, and some – at the initiative of the channel owner (sometimes along with the channel). And so that nothing is lost, we will look at how to download streaming video in Google Chrome.

Is it possible to download videos from Google Chrome

In Chrome itself, there are no separate buttons for downloading videos. Video hosting sites like YouTube, Vimeo, DailyMotion may not have them either. But, nevertheless, you can download the video from the browser. It would be strange if it were not possible.

The main ways to download videos:

  • using extensions;
  • through online services;
  • using installed programs.

In addition, you can use any screen recording software to capture what is happening on the screen: for example, Bandicam or Shadowplay. But this is a long and inefficient way: a 20-minute video will take 20 minutes to record, an hour-long video will take an hour. It’s only good for extreme cases when nothing else works. Therefore, within the framework of this article, we will not consider programs for capturing video from the screen.

Using programs and extensions

Until 2019, it was possible to download videos from the browser cache using the Chrome developer tools (Ctrl + Shift + I). It is still mentioned in various obsolete articles that you may have seen on the Internet, but it is no longer working.

Extensions are usually installed from the Chrome web store – https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/extensions?hl=en. Find an extension using the search bar, and click “Add to Chrome”.

Online services do not require installation. Usually they are an empty line where you need to insert a link to the video, and the “Download” button next to it.

There are also programs that require separate installation. Not only is it not very convenient, but it is often also paid. Therefore, we will not consider such programs.

SaveFrom.net

One of the most convenient services for downloading videos from YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook, and Instagram.

Copy the video link. You can do this in different ways, depending on the site:

  • highlight the page address in the address bar of the browser and press Ctrl+C;
  • right-click on the video and select “Copy video link” or “Copy video URL”;
  • click the “Options” (on Facebook) or “Share” (on most other sites) button and copy the link from there.

Paste the resulting link on SaveFrom.net, click the green arrow and get a download link.

In addition, SaveFrom.net has a “Helper”, which is installed as an extension – it adds a “Download” button directly to the interface of YouTube, Vimeo and other sites.

This allows you to download videos “on the spot” – no need to jump from YouTube to the service website and back.

SaveVideo.me

Another online service. The principle of operation and appearance is similar to the previous one. But unlike SaveFrom.net, it can download videos via a link from TikTok and Coub.

Also works with:

  • Dailymotion;
  • Streamable.com;
  • Flickr Videos;
  • LiveLeak;
  • Twitter and many other sites.

The full list can be viewed on the main page at the bottom – in the drop-down menu “Supported video sites”.

Video DownloadHelper

Able to download videos from Twitch.

It is a popular extension for Google Chrome with a high rating and over 2 million users. People prefer Video DownloadHelper to similar plugins because:

  • it has been tested by time – it has existed for more than 10 years;
  • it doesn’t behave strangely – it doesn’t install Tampermonkey and it doesn’t integrate into Windows startup;
  • it is reliable – it finds videos that are on the page.

For ease of use, the installed extension can be pinned in quick access. To do this, click on the “Extensions” button (a gray puzzle piece in the upper right corner of Chrome) and click the “Pin” icon opposite Video DownloadHelper.

How to download a video: open it in the browser – click on the extension icon – a small window will appear with the name of the video – click on the black arrow.

The down arrow means download to the default folder. This is usually C:\Users\username\dwhelper. The right arrow allows you to select the download folder.

Important: Video DownloadHelper for Chrome cannot download from YouTube. When you try this, it will tell you that “Unfortunately, the Chrome Web Store does not allow extensions to download YouTube videos, so this feature is not available in the Chrome add-on version. You can use Video DownloadHelper to download YouTube videos using the Firefox version.”

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Mike Lombardi/ author of the article

QA engineer, head of automated software testing department. Knowledge of Java, C/C++, JSP, HTML, XML, JavaScript, SQL and Oracle PL/SQL. Journalist and columnist in the IT field. Website creator and administrator.

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