How to Download YouTube Videos on iPhone (2026)

In 2026, when the internet is cheap and easily accessible, not many people think about downloading YouTube videos on their iPhone. But if you want to save your favourite YouTube video before it gets taken down, or just want to enjoy it without annoying ads, then we might be able to help. In this guide, we will help you learn how to download YouTube videos on your iPhone with different working methods. 

How to Download YouTube Videos on iPhone

Let me start by saying that YouTube does not offer a FREE option to download videos. You will have to either get YouTube Premium to enjoy offline viewing or use other third-party apps. So, with that out of the way, I looked for multiple tools, and based on my findings, here are all the possible ways to download YouTube videos on iPhone. 

Get YouTube Premium to Download Videos 

This is the only official and legal method to save YouTube videos on your iPhone, and work with all iPhone models that support the latest version of the YouTube app. 

1. Open the YouTube app and sign in to your account and then head to the video you want to save.
2. Here, tap on Download underneath the video.
3. Now, select your preferred quality inside the "Download quality" prompt and tap on Download.

Once downloaded, you can access it from the Library tab under "Downloads" inside the YouTube app.

Download YouTube Videos From a Third-Party Website

This is a common workaround if you want an actual video file. This method lets you store videos locally on your iPhone.

1. Open the YouTube video you want to download, and tap on the Share icon.
2. Now, select Copy link which you will need to download the video.

3. Now, open the Safari app and visit the SaveFrom website.
4. Paste the copied link into the text box and hit the Download icon.
5. Now, choose the video format from the dropdown menu, then tap on Download.

Screen Record YouTube Videos on iPhone 

This is a nice fallback method if you don't trust any third-party apps. You can simply turn on screen recording, watch the entire YouTube video in full screen and stop it once the video ends. This is a far easier workaround; however, the video quality and the sound might not be up to the mark. 

1. Swipe down from the top right to launch the Control Centre on your iPhone.
2. Here, tap on Screen Recording to begin capturing the iPhone display.

3. Open the YouTube video and play it in its entirety.
4. When you are done, tap on the recording pill at the top and then hit the Stop icon.

You can watch the videos inside the Library tab on the Photos app and also trim the unnecessary portions there. 

Unable to Download YouTube Videos on iPhone? Try These Fixes

In case you are having trouble downloading YouTube videos on your iPhone using any of the above methods, then you might want to try these troubleshooting methods instead: 

• Check your internet: You need a stable internet connection to download YouTube videos on your iPhone. So make sure you have a proper Wi-Fi or mobile data connection.
• Make sure you have YouTube Premium: YouTube only lets you download videos for offline viewing if you have an active YouTube Premium subscription.
• Update the YouTube app: You can face issues downloading videos if you have an outdated version of the app. Download the latest version of YouTube from the App Store.
• Free up your iPhone storage: Whether you are downloading a video through YouTube or using other workarounds, you need to make sure that you have sufficient storage space, or else the video will not be saved to your iPhone.
• Restart your iPhone: Sometimes, YouTube could encounter a temporary bug or glitch preventing you from downloading videos. In this case, you can also attempt to restart your iPhone, as it often fixes such issues.
• Disable VPN services: In case you are using a VPN service, then it is recommended that you disable it and try downloading it again.

So this wraps up our guide on how to download YouTube videos on your iPhone. There were not as many methods as expected, but that is because the platform has gone stricter over the years, preventing third-party services from downloading videos. And some of the other workarounds that do work are mostly available on Android. So, these were the best methods that I could find.