YouTube Downloader for iPhone and Android

By Usman Tayyab, Developer of iDownloadd · Updated July 2026

Neither the App Store nor Google Play allows apps whose primary purpose is downloading YouTube videos — that's a platform policy against tools that circumvent a major service's own terms, and it's why you'll never find a legitimate "YouTube Downloader" app in either store. The workaround isn't a workaround so much as it is the actual intended path: your phone's browser. Here's exactly how it works on each platform.

Why There's No App

Apple's App Store guidelines and Google Play's policies both prohibit apps that facilitate downloading from services (like YouTube) whose own terms restrict that behavior. Apps that ignore this either get rejected before publishing or get pulled after the fact — which is also a safety signal worth knowing: an app claiming to be a "YouTube downloader" that is live on either store is either misrepresenting what it does, or operating in a gray zone that could disappear (taking your access with it) at any time. A browser-based tool sidesteps this entirely because it's not an app at all — it's just a webpage.

iPhone: Safari Workflow

Open the YouTube app, tap Share on the video, then Copy Link. Switch to Safari, go to iDownloadd, paste the link, choose your format, and tap Convert & Download. iOS asks where to save the file — choose "Download" and it lands in the Files app under Downloads. Video files can be moved into Photos from there via the share sheet; audio files work directly with the Files app or can be added to your music library through a third-party player.

Android: Chrome Workflow

Same idea, slightly simpler because Android's download handling is more permissive by default: copy the share link from the YouTube app, open Chrome, paste it into the converter, and download. Files go straight to your phone's Downloads folder and show up immediately in your default gallery app (for video) or file manager (for audio) — no extra move step required the way iOS needs.

The One Thing That Trips People Up: Popup Blockers

Mobile Safari and Chrome both aggressively block popups by default, which is good for avoiding ad-arbitrage sites but occasionally blocks a legitimate download trigger too. If clicking Convert & Download seems to do nothing on mobile, check for a small "popup blocked" notification near the address bar and allow it once for that site — this is the most common "it's not working" report we get, and it's almost never the converter itself.

From Usman, the developer: I get asked periodically why iDownloadd doesn't ship as a Progressive Web App with an "Add to Home Screen" install prompt. I actually tested this early on — the problem is that once a PWA is "installed," most users stop distinguishing it mentally from a native app, and the trust model gets murkier (background permissions, update behavior) for zero real functional gain over just bookmarking the site. A bookmark works identically and doesn't blur that line.

Mobile vs. Desktop: What's Different

Step	iPhone	Android
Copy link	Share → Copy Link (YouTube app)	Share → Copy link (YouTube app)
Browser	Safari (or any browser)	Chrome (or any browser)
Where files land	Files app → Downloads	Downloads folder (auto-visible)
Getting video into gallery	Manual: share sheet → Save Video	Usually automatic

Ready to try it on your phone? Head to YouTube to MP4 or YouTube to MP3 — both work identically on mobile and desktop.