How to Download Private YouTube Videos [2024]

There are many YouTube downloaders available in the market, most of them supports download a public video off YouTube, and you can even download these public YouTube videos without any third-party tools. 

But how do you download private YouTube videos? Because they are private, public video downloaders lack this ability. That's not to say it isn't possible.

In this guide we unveils the mystery behind private hidden videos on YouTube, offering methods which do supports saving your own or other people's private videos from YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook for offline viewing or personal use.

 

Video Unavailable? What are Private Videos on YouTube

A private YouTube video is a video that is not publicly available on the YouTube platform and made with the aim of being shared privately with a small group of individuals (maximum of 50 people) chosen by the author. It does not appear in search results, YouTube channel, subscriber feed, or related videos and recommendations. 

To access the private content, you must be get invited through email or other means by the video creator, in addition to the link of the private video. 

Public VS Unlisted VS Private YouTube Videos

On YouTube, there are three kinds of videos with different restrictions. Public, unlisted, and private. 

• Public videos can be seen and searched by anyone.
• Unlisted videos can be viewed by anyone who has a link to the video but won’t come up in any YouTube search.
• Private videos are completely private, they do not appear in search results and unlike unlisted YouTube videos, private videos cannot be accessed directly via a link, users must be invited to watch them. 

 

Can I Download a Private YouTube Video?

To download private YouTube videos, you need to meet the following requirements:

• You can directly download your own private YouTube videos.
• To download other people’s  private YouTube video, you need the permission of the video owner. Be sure to get permission before downloading. 
• Once you have permission, you can use video downloaders that supports downloading private videos.

If you don’t have access to a private video, is it possible to download it?
If you can’t see the private YouTube video, you cannot download it.

Why It Matters: Private videos may get removed or deletion by the uploader or the platform for various reasons. Downloading private YouTube videos offline ensures that you always have a copy of the video for archiving, future reference or personal enjoyment.

 

Third-Party Video Downloaders You Can Use With Private Videos

Third-party software is what will give you the best control over downloading videos. We know, when downloading videos we want to download the highest-quality version and have it in the format of MP4, MKV, MP3, FLAC, etc. 

iFunia YouTube Downloader is one of the first video downloader that comes with the capability to download restricted YouTube videos, including private YouTube videos, YouTube live stream, age restricted YouTube videos, YouTube channels and playlists. 

Though it named YouTube Downloader it can actually download videos from more than 1,000 streaming sites including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Vimeo, etc. 

It is frequently updated and does what it advertises in a simple interface: It downloading videos in it’s original quality up to 4k and 8K and downloads in the most common formats like MP4, MKV, WMV, MOV, MP3, etc. 

It supports batch processing, downloading subtitles, entire playlists, all the videos in a channel, private video and live videos, etc. 

Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7 Free Download macOS 10.13 or later

Follow the steps below to download private YouTube videos with iFunia YouTube Downloader

1. Download and install iFunia YouTube Downloader. It's available for macOS, and Windows.
2. Copy the url of the private YouTube video you want to download. Paste the link to the address box of iFunia YouTube Downloader, then click the + icon to parse the link.
   
3. Verify permission - If the video is private, the program will detect and pop-up window that will open the video in your default web browser and then you need to log in to your YouTube account. Please make sure you're signed in so that you can access the private video. 
   Go back to iFunia YouTube downloader and click "OK" again.
   
4. Start the download - After the video is added, The program will display all available information and download options. Depending on the source video, you may be able to download videos in 8K, 4K, 1080p, 720p, etc. Select a format and quality from the Format drop down list and choose subtitle language to download the video with sub file. Then click start to begin saving the video to your PC.
   

That’s it! In a few minutes, all private YouTube videos will be downloaded to your computer. you can click the check icon to quickly locate the video file in the folder.

Download Your Own Private Videos Directly on YouTube

In the case you want to download your own private YouTube videos and other private YouTube content, you can use YouTube's video management function. The download steps are as follows:

1. Open YouTube and sign in with your account, then click on profile image >> YouTube Studio.
2. In the left menu Select "Content" and find the private video you want to download.
3. Click on the three-dot menu to the right of the video and select "Download".

YouTube Private Video Downloader Extension

You can also use browser extensions to download private videos.

For Firefox

To download private YouTube videos on FireFox, the most well know extension we can think of is video downloaderhelper, but in our test it fails in downloading private YouTube videos. After constant testing we find a private video downloader browser app which named YouTube Video and Audio Downloader (WebEx) can do the trick, here is how.

1. Open Firefox and install YouTube Video and Audio Downloader (WebEx).
2. Open the private video on YouTube and log in with your account. Then click to play the video. 
3. Click the YD icon on the toolbar and choose the quality to download the video.
4. Select the video you want to download and specify the save location.

For Chrome

Chrome Web Store restricts extensions provides YouTube downloading function. But an extension named Addoncrop YouTube Video Downloader can do the trick to hack the private YouTube video offline. 

1. Visit https://addoncrop.com/v26/youtube-downloader/.
2. Click on the link and download the private YouTube video downloader on Chrome. 
3. Open the page of the private video on YouTube.
4. Click on the extension icon on the toolbar.
5. Choose a quality to download the video.

 

[Higher Difficulty] Download Private YouTube Videos with Yt-dlp

For people who knows using command line method, we can also use yt-dlp tool to save private YouTube videos locally. Here’s how to hack YouTube private videos yourself.

1. Go to the github page to install yt-dlp on your computer. 
2. Follow the instructions on the yt-dlp github page to install it.
   Open command line interface on Mac or Windows and type the following command in the window and hit Enter:
   yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome “URL” (In this command please change chrome and URL with the browser you're using and the real video link.)

Note: This may not be working for some private YouTube videos. Especially those that requires a log-in. And the download video can only achieve a maximum quality of 720p, and cannot be downloaded in batches. 

 

How to Download Private YouTube Videos Manually

For some private YouTube videos you can download it directly using your browser's developer tool. However, with this method, you can only download the audio of the private YouTube video. Let's see how we can download private YouTube audios with source code manually.

1. Open the private video in YouTube and log in with your account. 
2. Right-click anywhere outside the video and press F12 on your keyboard to activate the Inspect tab.
3. Click Network >> Media.
4. Then click refresh to reload the video page, check the checkbox under Name.
5. Then Copy the Request URL under Headers
6. Paste the url in a new browser tab. Once the video loads, click the three vertical dots at the bottom-right of the video frame and click Download to download the video locally.

 

How to Download Private YouTube Videos without Access

While for some private and member only YouTube videos we may just don’t have the access to it, like we may see some videos in MachinimaRealm and now it delete it.

In the case if a video used to be public and now become private we can try with Wayback Machine, while there is no assurance that this method will work, but many people find it beneficial. To use the Wayback Machine for watching private YouTube videos, we need to have the exact URL of the video and take the link to the wayback machine to see if the video has been get archived. 

1. Go to Wayback Machine in a web browser.
2. Enter the video URL in the search bar at the top.
3. Select a year and date when the video was available.
4. Click the video to watch it.

 

FAQs on How to Download Private Videos from YouTube

• Is it legal to download private videos from YouTube?
  If you use one of these tools to download private videos from YouTube, please do so with permission. One made the video private for some reason and it might contain sensitive information, you should not use them for commercial purposes or other needs.

• Do I need to log in to my YouTube account?
  Yes, you need to log in to your own account so as to gain access to the video. 

• Will I get found out if I download the private video on YouTube?
  When you download a private or unlisted YouTube video, the person who uploaded the video will not find out.

• Can I Download Private YouTube Videos with Online Site
  Most of the online sites failed to download private YouTube videos, after you add the link of the private video to online sites it will show up as downloading, but many sites keep looping the process and the video is not actually downloaded in the end. 

 

Wrapping Up

So, what's the takeaway? It is possible to download private YouTube videos. When downloading private videos from YouTube, be sure to respect the rights of the video owner and ensure that you get their permission to view and download it. 

iFunia YouTube Downloader is the recommended solution that is absolutely feasible, 100% safe and easy. With this app, you can easily download private YouTube videos to MP4 in 4K or 1080p. Moreover, the app can also download private Facebook videos, age restricted YouTube videos, YouTube Shorts, playlists, channels, etc. Download this powerful YouTube video downloader right now.

Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7 Free Download macOS 10.13 or later