Can you screen record YouTube movies?

“I want to save a YouTube movie to my phone so that I can watch it during a flight. Can I screen record YouTube movies using a screen recording tool?”

No, you can’t screen record YouTube movies on your computer or phone using a screen recorder since YouTube movies are DRM-protected content. Although you can record a YouTube movie using a screen recorder, the recorded video will only display a black screen and you can’t capture the movie from YouTube.

However, you can download YouTube movies to your mobile device by subscribing to YouTube Premium or directly purchasing these movies. After downloading the movies you like, you can freely watch them in the YouTube app. However, if you are using a computer, there is no official way to download movies from YouTube for offline watching. Therefore, it’s recommended to save YouTube videos to your mobile phone or tablet to watch offline.