↓ yoinkvideo

Yoink any YouTube video, the clean way.

Paste a link. Pick a quality. Trim if you want. That's it.

Tip: paste a YouTube link (or just the 11-character video id) and hit Continue.

How it works

Three steps. No accounts. No app to install.

  1. 1

    Paste a link

    Any YouTube URL. Full link, shortened youtu.be, mobile m.youtube.com, or just the 11-character video id.

  2. 2

    Pick a quality

    1080p MP4 by default, with audio-only and MP3 one click away. Want a clip? Drag the trim handles on the timeline.

  3. 3

    Download

    The file streams straight to your browser. No redirect to a sketchy mirror. The file is what it says it is.

Why this exists

Every other YouTube downloader we tried had the same problems: three popups before the real download button, a fake "download" link that opens an ad, a forced redirect, a captcha for no reason, or a quality picker that doesn't actually pick what you asked for.

yoinkvideo is the tool we wanted to use. The homepage you're looking at is the entire app: paste, pick, save. No upsells, no tracker pixels, no "buy the premium version" splash. Everything important is in the open: the privacy stance, the limitations. We document them so you can decide for yourself whether to trust it.

The short version on privacy

  • ✓ No accounts. You never sign in. We never see your YouTube identity.
  • ✓ No logs of what you download. Web-server access logs are off. We don't write your URL or video id anywhere.
  • ✓ Nothing of yours persists with us. Buffers used during a download are wiped immediately after the file reaches you.
  • ✓ Minimal analytics. Standard Google Analytics for visit counts, gated behind the consent banner. No Facebook Pixel, no LinkedIn tag, no TikTok pixel, no cross-site profiling.

Full details on /privacy and /transparency.

Common things people use this for

YouTube video to MP3

Convert any YouTube video to a 192 kbps MP3.

YouTube video to MP4

Download as MP4. Every quality YouTube offers, up to 4K.

Cut a YouTube clip

Save just a section instead of the whole video.

Safe YouTube downloader

No malware, no fake download buttons, no installer.

YouTube video converter

MP4, MP3, M4A, Opus. Pick your format.

How to download YouTube videos

Step-by-step guide. No software install.

Frequently asked

Is downloading YouTube videos legal?
Depends where you live and what you do with the file. Personal offline viewing of content you have a right to access (your own uploads, Creative Commons works, public-domain material) is generally fine. Re-distribution or commercial use without permission isn't. Use your own judgement and check the law where you live.
Do you log what I download?
No. URLs, video IDs, and titles aren't written to a log we can replay later. The only IP-level data we touch is short-lived per-IP rate-limit counters that auto-expire within the hour.
Why is there a short wait after I click a quality?
We have to fetch the streams from YouTube and prepare your file before the download starts. Most of the wait is just network. The progress indicator shows you exactly where it is.
Why does the MP3 download take longer than the video?
MP3 means re-encoding the audio, which is real work on top of the download. If you don't need MP3 specifically, the 'Audio (M4A)' preset is much faster. Same source quality, smaller file, no re-encoding.
How is this different from YouTube Premium?
YouTube Premium downloads only work inside YouTube's apps, expire after 30 days offline, and don't give you the actual file. We give you the file, in the format you picked, that you own. No subscription, no expiration.
What formats can I download?
Every quality YouTube offers for that video. Typically MP4 from 144p through 1080p, sometimes 1440p, 4K, or higher. Audio is available as M4A (untouched), MP3 (192 kbps), or Opus. Quick presets cover the common picks; the full list is below them.
Can I download just a section of the video?
Yes. Click 'Trim portion of video' after pasting the URL. Drag the handles on the timeline or type the start/end times. The download will be only that section.
Does this work on mobile?
Yes, on any modern mobile browser. The download will land in your phone's Downloads folder.
Are there usage limits?
There are per-IP rate limits to keep the service stable for everyone. Normal use stays well under them. If you hit a limit, you'll see a clear error; wait a few minutes and try again.
Why does this still work?
We track YouTube's changes and keep things working. That's most of the maintenance budget of this project.
Can I download age-restricted, members-only, or private videos?
No. Member-only and private videos require an authenticated YouTube session and we don't carry one. If a video shows 'Sign in to confirm' on YouTube itself, we can't extract it either.
Will the downloaded file work everywhere?
MP4 plays in every modern player, browser, phone, smart TV, and editor. M4A and MP3 audio play on essentially anything. WebM/Opus play in modern players (VLC, recent browsers).