Share a video.
Save it in seconds.
Download YouTube videos straight from your phone, up to 4K. Video and audio are merged on device, downloads resume if the signal drops, and everything keeps running while you use other apps.
Android 8.0 and up
Built for the phone
The app integrates with Android in ways a browser tab cannot: the system share sheet, background downloads, and files saved where your gallery and file manager expect them.
Works from the share sheet
Open a video in the YouTube app, tap Share and choose VidPickr. Available formats load immediately, with no copying or pasting.
Parallel, resumable downloads
Every download is split across four connections. If one drops, it resumes from where it stopped instead of restarting, so long videos complete on unstable connections.
Merged on device
Above 360p, YouTube delivers video and audio as separate streams. The app combines them locally using Android’s native muxer, with no re-encoding and no loss of quality.
Continues in the background
Downloads run as a foreground service with a progress notification and continue while you use other apps. Tap a completed download to open it.
Install in three steps
Download the APK
A single file, around 12 MB. Your browser will ask you to confirm the download.
Approve the installation
Android requests permission to install apps from this source. This is standard for any app installed outside the Play Store and is only asked once.
Start downloading
VidPickr now appears in the share sheet of every app that can share a link, and accepts pasted URLs directly.
Android 8.0 and up
Distributed outside the Play Store
Google Play prohibits applications that download content from YouTube, so every app in this category is distributed directly. We publish the APK on this page rather than list the app under a different description.
This has two practical implications. Android displays a one-time warning during installation, and updates are delivered by the app rather than a store: it checks for a new version on launch and installs it with your confirmation.
Questions
Why is the app not on Google Play?
Google Play’s Device and Network Abuse policy prohibits applications that download content from services whose terms do not permit it, which covers every YouTube downloader. Established alternatives such as NewPipe, Seal and YTDLnis are distributed outside Play for the same reason. We publish the APK directly rather than list the app under a different description.
Is it safe to install an APK from outside the Play Store?
The relevant question is the source rather than the method. This APK is served from vidpickr.com over HTTPS and signed with our own release key. The app requests four permissions: internet access, notifications, a foreground service so downloads continue in the background, and permission to install its own updates. It requests no access to contacts, location, or storage beyond the file it saves.
How do updates work without a store?
The app checks for a new version on launch and displays a banner when one is available. A single tap downloads it and passes it to the Android installer, which asks for your confirmation. Nothing is installed silently.
Is an account required?
No. Downloads work without signing in. An account is only needed for Plus, which removes the short wait before each free download and unlocks the studio tools. Sign-in is available with Google, with an email and password, or through the browser on devices without Google Play Services.
What quality can it download?
Every quality the source video provides, up to 4K. Above 360p, YouTube delivers video and audio as separate streams, which the app merges on device using MediaMuxer. The streams are copied rather than re-encoded, so the result is identical to what YouTube served.
Where are files saved?
To your Downloads folder through MediaStore, so they appear in the Files app and your gallery alongside anything else you have downloaded. Tapping a completed download in the app opens it in your default video player.
Does it work without Google Play Services?
Yes. Play Services is used only for one-tap Google sign-in. On devices without it, the app offers browser-based sign-in instead. Downloading does not depend on it.
Is there an iOS app?
No. Apple’s App Review Guidelines prohibit this category, and outside the App Store an iOS app must be re-signed every seven days from a computer, which is not practical. On iPhone and iPad, use vidpickr.com in Safari and add it to your home screen.
Using a computer? The browser extension provides the same functionality.
Your computer does
the downloading.
A website has to fetch every byte through its own servers and send them on again. An app on your machine does not, so downloads run at the speed of your connection rather than ours, resume when they drop, and can reach videos only your own account can see.
Windows 10 and 11, 64 bit. Free, and an account is only needed for Plus.
The work happens on your computer
Your machine reads the video page and pulls the file straight from the source. Nothing is relayed through us, so nothing of ours is between you and the download.
Several connections at once
Each file is split across parallel connections and resumes from where it stopped if one drops. A browser tab cannot do either.
Reaches what your account can see
With your permission it borrows your browser session, so age restricted and members only videos work. No server-side downloader can do this, because the account that can see them is yours.
Whole playlists and channels
Paste one link, pick which entries you want, and queue the lot. Downloads carry on while the window is closed.
Files named the way you want them
Templates for the filename, a folder of your choosing, cover art and titles written into the file so a player has something to show.
Keeps itself current
Sites change constantly. The app updates its own extraction engine in the background rather than waiting for a new version of itself.
What it does with your data
- Your download history stays on your machine and is never uploaded.
- Browser cookies are read at the moment they are needed and never stored or sent.
- We receive a count of launches and downloads, with no link, no title and nothing about what you saved. One switch in settings turns it off.
- An account is optional, and signing in happens in your own browser rather than in the app.
Your computer does
the downloading.
A website has to fetch every byte through its own servers and send them on again. An app on your machine does not, so downloads run at the speed of your connection rather than ours, resume when they drop, and can reach videos only your own account can see.
macOS 11 or newer, Apple silicon and Intel. Free, and an account is only needed for Plus.
The work happens on your computer
Your machine reads the video page and pulls the file straight from the source. Nothing is relayed through us, so nothing of ours is between you and the download.
Several connections at once
Each file is split across parallel connections and resumes from where it stopped if one drops. A browser tab cannot do either.
Reaches what your account can see
With your permission it borrows your browser session, so age restricted and members only videos work. No server-side downloader can do this, because the account that can see them is yours.
Whole playlists and channels
Paste one link, pick which entries you want, and queue the lot. Downloads carry on while the window is closed.
Files named the way you want them
Templates for the filename, a folder of your choosing, cover art and titles written into the file so a player has something to show.
Keeps itself current
Sites change constantly. The app updates its own extraction engine in the background rather than waiting for a new version of itself.
What it does with your data
- Your download history stays on your machine and is never uploaded.
- Browser cookies are read at the moment they are needed and never stored or sent.
- We receive a count of launches and downloads, with no link, no title and nothing about what you saved. One switch in settings turns it off.
- An account is optional, and signing in happens in your own browser rather than in the app.