Streaming video is one of the great entertainment inventions of our time. Before streaming video, you needed a TV with an antenna/cable box/satellite attached or a portable DVD player with physical DVDs to see your favorite shows. Now, you can take them with you on small, convenient devices. This is perfect for those who do a lot of traveling. But what if you are on an airplane or traveling so remotely that there is no internet service? Or what if you are on a limited data plan and want to make sure you don’t get overage charges? Thankfully, most streaming services offer an offline viewing option for just these sorts of situations.
YouTube
Let’s start with YouTube, since it’s probably the most popular video service. In order to make content available for offline viewing, you must have a YouTube Premium subscription.
Downloading
- Login to youtube.com or the YouTube app using your YouTube Premium account.
- Go to the video and click “Download” below the video.
- When the download is complete, the download icon under the video will turn black.
Viewing
- Visit youtube.com or open the app while logged in with your Premium account.
- Click/tap on Downloads in the menu to access the list. App users will need to click on Library to see the Downloads menu option.
- To remove the video from Downloads screen, click/tap “More” next to the video and select Remove from Downloads.
- Confirm by clicking/tapping delete.
After downloading a video, you can play it offline for up to 29 days. After that, you must reconnect to the internet so the app can confirm the video is still available for offline viewing. If it’s not, the video will disappear.
Netflix
It is important to note that ad-supported Netflix plans do not include downloads. You must change to an ad-free plan before taking these steps.
Supported devices are:
- iOS devices running version 9.0 or later
- Android devices running 4.4.2 or later
- Amazon Fire tablet running 4.0 or later
- Windows 10 (1709 or later), Windows 11
- Chromebook and Chromeboxes using the Netflix app from the Google Play store.
The Netflix app has a dedicated tab for “Available to download” in the “Categories” section if you wish to browse. On a Windows device, open the app and select the menu to see the download option. If you know the TV show or movie you want to download, search for it and look for the download icon:
The Fine Print
- You can have 100 items downloaded across devices.
- You can save the download to an SD card.
- Some videos expire 48 hours after you start them, while others don’t.
- Some titles limit the number of times you can download them, while others don’t.
- If a title leaves Netflix, your download disappears.
Hulu
In order to download, you need to be a subscriber on the ad-free level using the mobile app. If you have add-on subscriptions (like Showtime), you won’t be able to download add-on content. Likewise, content available on demand through the live TV tier is not available for download. If you are logged in with an ad-free account, you will see a download symbol on any eligible title you search for. Tap the symbol to download.
Supported Devices
Hulu supports pretty much every type of device, unless it isn’t updated: https://help.hulu.com/s/article/supported-devices.
The Fine Print
- You can only download a total of 25 titles at a time across 5 devices.
- Unwatched downloaded videos stay on the device for 30 days.
- After you start watching, you have 48 hours to finish before it is no longer downloaded.
HBOMax
Most of the HBOMax streaming catalog is available for download. Like other services, you need to be signed in with an ad-free level plan to download content. Downloading is only available in the app (phone or tablet), and is done by tapping the download arrow icon on the item. To view your downloads in a list, tap the download icon on the bottom edge of the screen.
The Fine Print
- Be sure to confirm your preferred language before downloading. You can’t change your audio track once you download.
- You can only have 5 copies of the same show downloaded across your devices.
- You can have up to 30 downloads at a time across devices (does not include expired)
- After you start watching, the download expires in 48 hours.
- You can renew an expired download from the download list by tapping the ! icon, and then renew.
Disney+
Like other services, downloading is only available on phones and tablets. There are also very few restrictions, except only being able to download the same title on 10 devices. Once you download a title, you can play it over and over and it never expires. Every 30 days you need to connect one of your Disney+ devices and tap the arrow to download the item. You don’t actually need to wait for it to download again, it just refreshes the download that is already on your device. Just be careful not to logout, or you will need to download all of your titles again. If your subscription expires, you lose access to your downloads.
Download Settings
One thing that is different about Disney+ is that you’ll want to configure your download settings before you download anything. Tap your profile picture, then app settings to enter the settings menu. Scroll to the downloads section.
Select options for video quality, which networks can download content, and where to save the downloads.
Downloading
- To download a movie, click on the download arrow icon.
- For a TV series, scroll down to Episodes.
- To download the entire season, tap the download arrow icon next to Season, then tap the confirmation prompt.
- Or, tap the download icon next to an individual episode.
- To view your list of downloads, tap the download arrow icon at the bottom edge of the screen.
Amazon Prime
You can download video using a Fire tablet or through the Prime Video app on Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows 10. On Android and Windows, you can choose where to save downloaded content. Due to varying licensing agreements, which titles can be downloaded seems hit or miss.
Downloading
- For movies, go to the detail page and click the “Download” button.
- To download an entire season of TV show episodes, select “Download Season” from the season’s detail page.
- To download a single episode of a TV show, Scroll down to the episode list and click the download arrow icon next to the episode you want.
The Fine Print
- You can only download an item on up to three devices at a time.
- There is no concrete answer to how many titles you can download at a time. Several factors come into play, including your location.
- Once a title is downloaded, you have 30 days to watch it. After starting it, you have 48 hours to finish watching.
Apple TV+
Apple TV+ has a smaller streaming library than some of the other services, but the good news is that most titles are available for download. You aren’t limited to the number of Apple Originals you can download, but they do state some of the partner services (like Starz) may have limits on the number of titles you can download on how many devices. If you reach a limit, you will get a notification.
Supported Devices
It probably won’t be a shock to learn that only Apple devices are supported for downloading. You can do so using the Apple TV app on a Mac, iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch.
Downloading
- Open the movie or show in the app on your device.
- Tap the download button, which is next to the episode title for a TV show or on the cover art for a movie.
- There is no option to download an entire TV season at once.
- To watch downloaded content, open the app and select Library (icon on the bottom edge), then Downloaded. Open a show to see downloaded episodes.
Deleting
- To delete in the app, return to the Downloaded list and tap the edit button on the upper-right. Select the items and tap delete. Confirm.
- To delete on a Mac, hover over the title card or episode title and select the three-dot icon. Choose “delete from library”, then confirm.
Paramount+
Once again, an ad-free plan is needed for the ability to download. Downloads can be done on iOS and Android phones/tablets, unavailable on iOS 12 and Android 4.4 and below. Use the download icon next to a movie to TV show episode title to download. To watch them, tap Menu, then more, then Downloads, and then tap on the title you want to watch.
To delete from the list, swipe left on the title and select Delete. You may want to select the option to auto-delete after you finish watching to save space on your device. This option is in Menu, then More, then Settings. Toggle the option on.
The Fine Print
- Unwatched videos will remain in your download library for 30 days.
- One a video is started, you have 48 hours to finish it.
- Limited to 25 downloaded videos at a time.
- Limited to 5 copies of the same video across devices.
Peacock
You must be logged in on the app with the Premium Plus plan to download on Peacock. To download, tap the download icon in the bottom-right corner. To watch downloaded content, you must be offline. When you open the app offline, you are directed to your downloaded content. To delete, open the app and select the download icon in the bottom-left corner. On the content to delete, tap the icon that says, “Downloaded” and delete.
The Fine Print
- Unwatched videos will remain in your download library for 30 days.
- One a video is started, you have 48 hours to finish it.
- Limited to 25 downloaded videos at a time.
- Some pieces of content can only be downloaded twice. Per account. Ever.
- Logging out or uninstalling Peacock removes downloaded items from the device.
- Peacock is not clear about which types of devices support downloading.
Other Popular Services
Acorn
This service is pretty vague about limits, stating that there may be some limits to the number of times a title can be downloaded a year, and that titles may expire after some time. Like most services, not all of their content is available for download. To download, tap the down arrow icon next to a movie or TV show episode. To watch a download, open the app while you are offline and tap “view my downloads.”
Britbox
Interestingly, Britbox only allows downloading if you subscribed through Apple TV. They do not allow it on their own app, though they say they are exploring more download options for the future.
Summary
Downloading streaming content can be a great way to save data or enjoy content without an internet connection. Do you ever download streaming content to watch offline? Did you even know you could? Let us know in the comments.