Skip to content

YouTube

YouTube is Google's wildly popular streaming media service that is used by billions of users each year and serves a massive variety of media ranging from feature length films to video blogs. YouTube works flawlessly with ChromeOS and has some integrations into ChromeOS powered devices.

This section of the ChromeOS Guide is not designed to be a comprehensive guide to YouTube, rather a crash-course into basic YouTube usage when it comes to ChromeOS. You can also create your own YouTube channel and use your ChromeOS device to produce content; however, that is out of scope for this channel.

YouTube Subscription Options

Your YouTube account is tied to your Google Account, so you likely already have a YouTube account. There are several possible options for viewing YouTube content;

  • Guest Account - Guest accounts are for users who have not logged into YouTube with their Google Account. When using a guest account, you will not be able to comment on or rate videos and will also not be able to subscribe to channels. Your YouTube watch or search history will not be saved, and you will see advertising in the form of sidebar ads, in-video ads and pop-over ads. Finally, with a guest account, you will not be able to access any age restricted content.

  • Free Tier - YouTube is available to users on a free tier. This is the default tier for all YouTube users, and paid options are done as a optional subscription. The free YouTube accounts are funded via advertising, so you will see ads in the form of sidebar ads, in-video ads and pop-over ads. Free YouTube accounts will not be able to download content offline if the YouTube Android Application is used.

  • YouTube Premium - YouTube Premium (Formerly known as YouTube Red) is the primary subscription model used by YouTube, in which viewers pay a monthly fee to YouTube directly. YouTube Premium provides a cleaner YouTube interface that does not include ads and in-video ads. Your content creators may still include "sponsored content" within their videos if they wish. YouTube Premium accounts also work nicely with the Android version of YouTube which you can run on ChromeOS by installing the application from the Google Play Store, such as offline playback and background playback. The cost for a YouTube Premium account varies based on location and exists in two tiers (Individual and Family).

  • YouTube TV - YouTube TV accounts are only available in select areas of the United States and will be rolled out to various locations over the next several years. The YouTube TV subscription works in addition to a Free YouTube Account or a YouTube Premium account. With YouTube TV, you can watch local TV broadcasts and paid content from various TV networks that are normally only available with a cable or satellite TV service. YouTube TV accounts include DVR access to allow customers to record live TV or schedule recordings of their favorite TV shows to watch at a later time. The monthly cost of a subscription to YouTube TV does vary depending on location and selection of channels that you choose to subscribe to. If you are on a YouTube Family subscription, members of your family will be able to also take advantage of your YouTube TV subscription and will have the access to their own DVR as well.

Finally, YouTube Premium members also gain access to YouTube Music, Google/YouTube's premium streaming music and music videos platform.

Channel Subscriptions

A channel subscription is a way for you to support your favorite YouTube creators by giving money directly to the channel. Creators that use Channel Subscriptions to fund their content may offer exclusive content to subscribers. Channel Subscriptions are available to users on both YouTube Free and YouTube Premium accounts.

YouTube Website

Generally, most users will use the web-based version of YouTube that is accessible at https://YouTube.com within Chrome. This is an excellent option for those who are always on a stable internet connection, however it is also possible to use the web-based version of YouTube offline if you are a YouTube Premium customer and in a geographic location where offline support is available.

Downloading YouTube Videos Offline via the Web

YouTube is in the process of allowing offline video support with the web-based version of the Chrome browser, however it is limited to only being able to store videos on your ChromeOS Device's internal storage. This feature is only available in some regions of the world and only to users on a paid YouTube Premium account and if the owner of the video allows their content to be viewed offline. If a video is available for offline viewing, you will see an option to download the video directly below the video player, between the share and add to playlist buttons.

YouTube Android Application

It is strongly recommended that ChromeOS users use the Android version of YouTube that can be installed from the Google Play Store. The Android version of YouTube has several advantages over the web-based YouTube, especially for those who subscribe to YouTube Premium, such as the ability to download videos for offline viewing to a Micro SD card when a stable internet connection is not available.

Downloading YouTube Videos Offline via Android

The Android version of YouTube allows you to download YouTube content to your device for offline viewing if you are a YouTube Premium customer. You must ensure that your device periodically connects to the internet every 30 days to verify that your account is still active, or your offline videos will no longer be able to be played.

Downloading YouTube videos can consume a lot of storage on your device. When you choose to download a video or playlist, YouTube will give you the option to choose the quality of the video. If your device is limited on space, it is advised to choose a lower quality. On ChromeOS devices with a SD Card/Micro SD card, you may use this as storage for offline video content instead of relying on your device's built in storage.