YouTube’s decision to open up a feature – previously reserved for Premium users – to the rest of the internet had largely flown under the radar.
That was until an eagle-eyed Reddit user made the discovery.
The user shared that the platform now allows every user to download videos without owning a Premium account.
Users can then watch the content offline, which is particularly useful if travelling or trying to limit data use while out and about.
However the feature is limited, only allowing users to download low and medium-quality videos at 144p and 360p.
To watch offline in high quality or full HD, you’ll still need a YouTube Premium subscription.
It also excludes music videos, as well as Shorts, and it’s not clear how widespread the update is.
The change comes just a few months after the tech giant announced a new YouTube Premium Lite option, at £5 less each month, for users in the UK.
The user wrote: ‘I accidentally hit the download button when trying to save a video to my watch later only to find out that you can now download videos (at not the best quality) without premium.
‘This is a really big step for YouTube in my opinion.’
Some other users of Reddit reacted to the post, welcoming the updated feature.
One wrote: ‘That’s nice to have an option at all for free users.
‘I remember a time I had to go to random sketchy websites to download a YouTube video.’
They added they had a Premium account but they were ‘really glad more features come for free users while still leaving room fr a reason to have Premium beyond just not watching ads.’
Another simply chimed in: ‘Much better.’
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