Private YouTube videos can only be seen by the owner and invited viewers, providing a great way to store personal and family moments, private webinars, confidential information and more. Unlike public videos, accessing and downloading private videos may require additional steps and special tools.
Below in this article, I'll outline the steps to download private YouTube videos using some capable apps and tools on desktop or mobile.
IMPORTANT: To download a private video, ensure you're logged into a YouTube account that the video was shared with. Also, make sure you have explicit consent from the owner to download the private video to avoid any legal or ethical issues.
The easiest way to download private YouTube videos is perhaps to use Cisdem Video Converter, a feature-rich video downloader/converter solution.
It enables users to download private, unlisted and age-restricted YouTube videos and playlists by simply copying and pasting the link. It can download videos to MP4 in all resolutions available, from 360p up to 4K and 8K, no quality loss. In addition to YouTube, it also supports downloading private videos from Facebook, Twitter(X), Instagram, Vimeo and more. It's an all-in-one converter that includes a DVD/Blu-ray ripper, video compressor and editor.
Step 1. Download and run Cisdem Video Converter
Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7
Open the app, and click the third tab at the top to switch to the download interface.
Step 2. Copy and paste video link
Copy the private YouTube video link. Go back to Cisdem, and paste the link to the provided field at the bottom, then click the + icon to parse the link.
Step 3. Verify permission
Once Cisdem detects it's a private video, a pop-up window will appear, click "OK" to open the YouTube private video in the default web browser. Please make sure you're signed in and can view the video.
Go back to the app, click "OK" again to close the browser and gain access to the private video in the app.
Step 4. Start the download
If needed, you can adjust the video quality from the "Format" drop-down menu and choose subtitle language to download the video with sub file.
Then click the down-arrow icon or the "Start" button to begin downloading private YouTube videos to your device.
When the download is completed, you can click the check icon
to quickly locate the video file in the folder.
1. In Step 2, you can also click 
at the bottom left corner to input multiple URLs to import videos in batches.
2. After download, you can switch to the Convert interface (the first tab) to convert the downloaded videos to any format like MP4, MP3, MKV, AVI and so on to ensure compatibility with any device.
Free Download Windows 11/10/8/7 
Free Download macOS 10.11 or later
Internet Download Manager, or IDM, is a popular download manager software that is only available for Windows OS. The app works with its browser extension to download private videos from youtube.com and some other supported sites. It provides a 30-day free trial before you purchase a full version for your PC.
Yt-dlp is a command-line video downloader program that provides faster download speed than its predecessor - youtube-dl, which has been inactive since 2021. It can fetch private YouTube videos if you link it to the browser cookies. It's free and open source, but it can be a bit complicated for people who know little about command line interface (CLI).
1. Install yt-dlp on your computer.
You can follow a detailed installation instructions on the yt-dlp github page.
2. Open command line interface.
On Windows, click Start menu and type “cmd” in the search box to open the Command Prompt; On Mac, click Launchpad and type “Terminal” to open Terminal.
3. Type the following command in the window and hit Enter:
yt-dlp --cookies-from-browser chrome “URL”
*Replace chrome and URL with the actual browser you're using and the video link. If it fails to extract cookies, close the browser and try again.
Note: yt-dlp can only download private YouTube videos in MP4 360P. If you want to save higher quality like 720P or 1080P, you need to install FFmpeg, another command-line tool, to merge the video and audio tracks, and convert to MP4 format.
YouTube allows you to download private videos within the mobile app, as long as you've subscribed to the YouTube Premium membership. Note that the video file is saved in the app, not in your photo album and is not available for transfer.
TubeMate is a free YouTube private video downloader app for Android, it has a built-in browser that allows you to visit YouTube and log in for private video download. YouTube video downloaders like TubeMate are not available on Google Play Store and App Store due to Google violation policy, so users should exercise with caution when downloading apps from third-party sources.
The app is not available for iOS, so if you want to download private YouTube videos to your iPhone or iPad without Premium, the best workaround is to download on computer first and then transfer the files to your mobile device.
Can I download a private YouTube video without signing in? Well, maybe, if the video was public for a while before it was privatized by the owner. And you must provide the URL of the video. This method also works for deleted YouTube videos.
Internet Archive is a free digital library of websites and other materials that allows users to go back in time to see past websites with the Wayback Machine. So it might have archived the private YouTube video you would like to download.
If you have no luck with the Wayback Machine, the last resort is to contact the video uploader. Remember to include your email address associated with your YouTube account. Video uploaders can share a private YouTube video with up to 50 users and send a notification via email. The uploader may accept your request and add you to the invitees list.
Using programs like Cisdem Video Converter and yt-dlp can help you download private YouTube videos and playlists if you have the necessary permissions. If you have no access to a private video and it was previously public, try finding it in the Wayback Machine and downloading from an archived page.
Sign in to YouTube Studio, and click Content on the left panel. Hover your mouse on the private video you want to download, and click the three-dots icon > Download. The video will be saved as an MP4 file with up to 720P HD resolution. If you desire higher resolution, consider using a professional downloader such as Cisdem Video Converter.
No virus or security issues were found in our tests when downloading private videos using the above tools. But when using IDM, some antivirus software was installed on my computer without notification. Uninstall the bundled software or avoid this method if you want to ensure max security. Remember to use reputable apps only and always download software from official sites.
No. Online tools lack the capability to save private videos from YouTube. I tried a private video download site that asked me to enter the source code of the video page, but the download still failed.
Emily is a girl who loves to review various multimedia software. She enjoys exploring cutting edge technology and writing how-to guides. Hopefully her articles will help you solve your audio, video, DVD and Blu-ray issues.
