YouTube: Difference between revisions

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===Offline video DRM===

The YouTube Mobile application permits users with a YouTube Premium subscription to download videos for offline viewing. However, the downloaded content is protected by [[Digital rights management|Digital Rights Management]] (DRM) that requires the application to establish an online connection with YouTube's servers at least once every 48 hours to maintain playback functionality. This requirement is not prominently featured on the primary YouTube Premium marketing page and is detailed instead within the platform's support documentation.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |author= |date= |title=YouTube Premium |url=https://www.youtube.com/premium |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251111004845/https://www.youtube.com/premium |archive-date=11 Nov 2025 |access-date=2 Feb 2026 |website=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=Watch videos offline on mobile in selected countries and regions |url=https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6141269 |website=[[Google]] |date=13 Jul 2025 |access-date=11 Feb 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250719175650/https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6141269 |archive-date=19 Jul 2025}}</ref>

The YouTube Mobile application permits users with a YouTube Premium subscription to download videos for offline viewing. However, the downloaded content is protected by [[Digital rights management|Digital Rights Management]] (DRM) that [[Forced cloud|requires the application to establish an online connection]] with YouTube's servers at least once every 48 hours to maintain playback functionality. This requirement is not prominently featured on the primary YouTube Premium marketing page and is detailed instead within the platform's support documentation.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |author= |date= |title=YouTube Premium |url=https://www.youtube.com/premium |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251111004845/https://www.youtube.com/premium |archive-date=11 Nov 2025 |access-date=2 Feb 2026 |website=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=Watch videos offline on mobile in selected countries and regions |url=https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6141269 |website=[[Google]] |date=13 Jul 2025 |access-date=11 Feb 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250719175650/https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6141269 |archive-date=19 Jul 2025}}</ref>

Saved videos are forcibly deleted after 29 days. [[Data_lock-in#Videos_downloaded_inside_the_YouTube_app|Data lock-in and proprietary encoding]] prevents the user from making permanent copies of videos, even those licensed under Creative Commons.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Santos |first=Noel |title=Warning: Youtube Premium "Downloads" aren't MP4 Files |url=https://www.virtualcuriosities.com/articles/3383/warning-youtube-premium-downloads-arent-mp4-files |website=Virtual Curiosities |date=7 Dec 2024 |access-date=2 Feb 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251126100053/https://www.virtualcuriosities.com/articles/3383/warning-youtube-premium-downloads-arent-mp4-files |archive-date=26 Nov 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Mental Outlaw |title=Google is Locking Down Android |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1S0SiBuJN8 |website=YouTube |date=28 Aug 2025 |access-date=2 Feb 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://preservetube.com/watch?v=L1S0SiBuJN8 |archive-date=29 Aug 2025}}</ref>

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Sometimes YouTube's community guidelines grow stricter and retroactively affect existing content, with entire channels being taken down due to strikes on only a few videos, resulting in the collateral loss of all other videos, with one famous example being Mumkey Jones.<ref>{{Cite web |author=j aubrey |title=Mumkey Jones: YouTube's Most Wanted |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te8-ETSDgcs |website=YouTube |date=21 Jan 2019 |access-date=12 Apr 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/Te8-ETSDgcs |archive-date=23 Jan 2024}}</ref>

===Forced sign-in===

Since 2025, the Android app and the web-app sometimes [[Forced account|require users to login]] to their Google accounts to "confirm you're not a bot".{{Citation needed}} They could require solving a [[CAPTCHA]], but they don't that. This, paired with [[Google#Phone number requirement for new accounts|Google's phone-number requirement]], makes it impossible for users to share a single "guest" account, as is typically the case for families sharing a smart TV.

==References==

@@ Line 74: / Line 74: @@
 ===Offline video DRM===
-The YouTube Mobile application permits users with a YouTube Premium subscription to download videos for offline viewing. However, the downloaded content is protected by [[Digital rights management|Digital Rights Management]] (DRM) that requires the application to establish an online connection with YouTube's servers at least once every 48 hours to maintain playback functionality. This requirement is not prominently featured on the primary YouTube Premium marketing page and is detailed instead within the platform's support documentation.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |author= |date= |title=YouTube Premium |url=https://www.youtube.com/premium |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251111004845/https://www.youtube.com/premium |archive-date=11 Nov 2025 |access-date=2 Feb 2026 |website=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=Watch videos offline on mobile in selected countries and regions |url=https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6141269 |website=[[Google]] |date=13 Jul 2025 |access-date=11 Feb 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250719175650/https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6141269 |archive-date=19 Jul 2025}}</ref>
+The YouTube Mobile application permits users with a YouTube Premium subscription to download videos for offline viewing. However, the downloaded content is protected by [[Digital rights management|Digital Rights Management]] (DRM) that [[Forced cloud|requires the application to establish an online connection]] with YouTube's servers at least once every 48 hours to maintain playback functionality. This requirement is not prominently featured on the primary YouTube Premium marketing page and is detailed instead within the platform's support documentation.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |author= |date= |title=YouTube Premium |url=https://www.youtube.com/premium |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251111004845/https://www.youtube.com/premium |archive-date=11 Nov 2025 |access-date=2 Feb 2026 |website=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=Watch videos offline on mobile in selected countries and regions |url=https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6141269 |website=[[Google]] |date=13 Jul 2025 |access-date=11 Feb 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250719175650/https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6141269 |archive-date=19 Jul 2025}}</ref>
 Saved videos are forcibly deleted after 29 days. [[Data_lock-in#Videos_downloaded_inside_the_YouTube_app|Data lock-in and proprietary encoding]] prevents the user from making permanent copies of videos, even those licensed under Creative Commons.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Santos |first=Noel |title=Warning: Youtube Premium "Downloads" aren't MP4 Files |url=https://www.virtualcuriosities.com/articles/3383/warning-youtube-premium-downloads-arent-mp4-files |website=Virtual Curiosities |date=7 Dec 2024 |access-date=2 Feb 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20251126100053/https://www.virtualcuriosities.com/articles/3383/warning-youtube-premium-downloads-arent-mp4-files |archive-date=26 Nov 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Mental Outlaw |title=Google is Locking Down Android |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1S0SiBuJN8 |website=YouTube |date=28 Aug 2025 |access-date=2 Feb 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://preservetube.com/watch?v=L1S0SiBuJN8 |archive-date=29 Aug 2025}}</ref>
@@ Line 139: / Line 139: @@
 Sometimes YouTube's community guidelines grow stricter and retroactively affect existing content, with entire channels being taken down due to strikes on only a few videos, resulting in the collateral loss of all other videos, with one famous example being Mumkey Jones.<ref>{{Cite web |author=j aubrey |title=Mumkey Jones: YouTube's Most Wanted |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te8-ETSDgcs |website=YouTube |date=21 Jan 2019 |access-date=12 Apr 2026 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/Te8-ETSDgcs |archive-date=23 Jan 2024}}</ref>
+===Forced sign-in===
+Since 2025, the Android app and the web-app sometimes [[Forced account|require users to login]] to their Google accounts to "confirm you're not a bot".{{Citation needed}} They could require solving a [[CAPTCHA]], but they don't that. This, paired with [[Google#Phone number requirement for new accounts|Google's phone-number requirement]], makes it impossible for users to share a single "guest" account, as is typically the case for families sharing a smart TV.
 ==References==