How To Save Videos from YouTube and Similar Websites

     This is a short tutorial on how to save videos from YouTube and similar websites. I see this question posted on forums and over and over on YouTube itself. Do not use these steps to infringe on any copyrights! It is best used when you have permission from a friend or company to download their videos so that you can simply watch them later.

     Here are a couple ways you can save YouTube and similar website videos for later viewing, such as watching them at breaks at work, while travelling, and so on. The ways described in this post involve using a web browser  to view web pages and content (possibly different than the one you are using now) and using small add-ons (small programs that run within the web browser) to save the videos as files on your computer. These are not the only ways to save the videos, but are commonly used and easy ways to do so.

• Install Firefox by going to Mozilla.com
  Click on the Free Download button and save the file it sends you somewhere you can remember. Then simply run the file by going to where you saved it and double-clicking it.
  Firefox is a web browser (allowing you to view web pages and items on them) that is customizable and allows us to run Add-Ons
• Get Add-On(s) for Firefox that allow saving of the videos from YouTube and similar sites by clicking on the word Tools in the toolbar at the top of Firefox and going down to Add-Ons. You can also go to the main Firefox Add-on website to search for Add-ons. Either way, enter in the search bar (next to the magnifying glass) the word UNPLUG or the words VIDEO DOWNLOAD HELPER.
  These are two add-ons that allow saving of videos from webpages. We offer two because we are not affiliated with any add-on creator and have no preference towards any add-ons. These are merely two which work well and have been used by many people to save videos from webpages.
  You can also just click on these words to go directly to their download pages:
  UnPlug
  Video Download Helper
  Once at their respective Add-On pages, simply click on the green Add To Firefox button with the + symbol on it.
  You may have to click an Allow button that pops up on the top of the webpage. This is simply a step making sure you are allowing this small add-on to be installed and that noone is doing anything automatically on you that you do not want.
  
• Go to YouTube or similar websites and visit the webpage of the video you want to save
  (simply go to watch the video as you normally would do)

• For Unplug, click on the small green fish in the lower right-hand corner, then click on the Download button for the quality of the video you want to save, then use the default Firefox Save dialog to choose where to save it
  

  

  Click to see larger size

  For Video DownloadHelper, there is a red yellow and blue button in the toolbar at the top, or simply right-click and go to DownloadHelper>Media and choose the quality of the video you want to save, then use the default Firefox Save dialog to choose where to save it

Click to see larger size

That's it!

It may seem like a lot at first, but once you install the add-on you wish to use, which only needs to be done once, you can save any videos you want after that without needing to install anything else. If the webpage can play the video, you can save it.

If you liked this post, buy me a cup of coffee :) (You can even use your credit card to donate a dollar with PayPal and it does not give out your information to the person you are sending it to). Thanks and check back in once in a while to see more tutorials on How To Save Things!