A reader is having a problem with a program used to download videos from YouTube.
“My question concerns a problem with YouTube and the YouTube Downloader (Premium Ver.) from DVDVideoSoft It seems as though I am not the only one having this problem, as I have noticed a lot of others mentioning the same issue on the net. The problem appears to be random. I am able to download a number of videos with no problem. Then, when I try to download another video of a similar or identical topic I get the error message “YouTube Login Required (1001)”. I am always logged in to YouTube. This problem showed up after I upgraded from an older version to the new version and then to the Premium version. (While the older version would download videos of 1 hr in duration, the new version would not download anything longer than 3 minutes. I had to purchase the Premium version.) I have contacted DVDVideoSoft several times. While they offer suggestions to try, such as clearing cache from my browser (Chrome), it is to no avail. Can you or any members offer a solution to this problem?”
I have a little bit of an issue with trying to solve this problem because you actually aren’t supposed to download YouTube videos. By using YouTube, you’ve actually promised not to. According to the YouTube terms of services:
- You agree not to distribute in any medium any part of the Service or the Content without YouTube’s prior written authorization, unless YouTube makes available the means for such distribution through functionality offered by the Service (such as the Embeddable Player).
- You agree not to alter or modify any part of the Service.
- You agree not to access Content through any technology or means other than the video playback pages of the Service itself, the Embeddable Player, or other explicitly authorized means YouTube may designate.
- You may access Content for your information and personal use solely as intended through the provided functionality of the Service and as permitted under these Terms of Service. You shall not download any Content unless you see a “download” or similar link displayed by YouTube on the Service for that Content.
The number of plays that a video gets online with the YouTube platform is important. That’s how it’s determined if ads will be placed on that video or channel and how much the person creating the videos and how much YouTube will be paid for each ad play. Many people make their living like this. If you download their video, you can watch and share it as much as you want, but the creator gets no credit.
If you have permission from the creator of the content to download that video, you wouldn’t be breaking the law, but you would be breaking the terms of your user agreement with YouTube and they could suspend not only your YouTube account but all of your Google-related accounts.
As a person who creates virtual content for a living, I’m a little sensitive about that. Video, articles, music, and other web content doesn’t just become yours because it’s on display somewhere public, no more than you can take a painting off the wall at a museum and walk home with it. YouTube does offer a feature to save videos for offline viewing. If you subscribe to their Premium service, YouTube Red, you can download all the videos you want and watch them within the YouTube app even if you aren’t online. But in this case, YouTube and the creators of the videos still get credit for the plays. A bonus with Red is that you can watch without ads.
The other problem with answering your question is that Google punishes people when they tell others how to circumvent the rules. Back when I worked at WorldStart someone posted something in the forums about how to download YouTube videos and Google suspended ad placement on the website until it was removed. If you look at the Google Product forms, you’ll notice they’re pretty good about scrubbing questions about your software product. That’s probably why you aren’t seeing a whole lot online about the error and how to fix it.
My guess as to why you get logged out is that YouTube catches on to what’s going on when several videos are downloaded and logs you out. I’ve looked in the DVDVideoSoft forums and on their Facebook page as and see that others have your issue. (You might also try posting there.) Since I don’t see any replies with solutions to questions about it, I suspect I’m right about Google just booting users out of YouTube if they detect the software. DVDVideoSoft probably doesn’t want to just tell you that their product violates the terms of service for YouTube and that Google is probably actively working against it.
My suggestion to you is to save videos you want to watch in your YouTube Library or get direct permission from the person who created it. If you don’t mind paying $10 a month, you could subscribe to YouTube Red.
I’m sure this isn’t the answer you’d like to here and it’s possible that DVDSoft will come up with a way to circumvent YouTube’s rules. But I can’t encourage you to use their software.
Downloading videos or music for personal use is not piracy, therefor it is not illegal or breaking a law. To impose that upon people would be tyrannical and opposition to such a law would be important. Piracy is when you sell something that is not yours, downloading for personal use has been done for a long long time. That’s why radios have record buttons, VHS had record buttons, and DVR have record buttons. I’ll never understand these sheeple who say it’s illegal and wrong to download something for personal use.