YouTube Download Policy

The forum Code of Conduct includes this:

We do not support circumventing TOS, EULA, etc here.
TOS = Terms of Service
EULA = End User License Agreement

The relevant part, under the “Permissions and Restrictions” heading, of the YouTube Terms of Service states:

The following restrictions apply to your use of the Service. You are not allowed to:

  1. access, reproduce, download, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, alter, modify or otherwise use any part of the Service or any Content except:
    (a) as specifically permitted by the Service;
    (b) with prior written permission from YouTube and, if applicable, the respective rights holders; or
    (c) as permitted by applicable law;
Even though there are packages for downloading material from YouTube in the repositories, for consistency in our policy we cannot provide support for any method for YouTube downloads. If a forum moderator closes or jails your thread, please respect the forum Code of Conduct and the moderator’s reason for so doing. If you believe an error has been made in moderation, the correct course of action is outlined in the forum Code of Conduct (linked above).

A few years ago, there was an outbreak of trolling in response to the then Forum Council's clarification of this policy. Their stance was, “We are not a court of law. If you wish to challenge their terms hire a lawyer and take your argument up with YouTube. The arguments are inappropriate here as we do not administer their website.” This is the stance of the current Forum Council. Complaints about this policy will not be viewed sympathetically.

Previous sticky by admin emeritus s.fox here: https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1850955