What you can download with Y2Mate
| Link type | Example | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Normal video | youtube.com/watch?v=… | MP4 144p – 4K, MP3, M4A |
| Short link | youtu.be/… | Same as a normal video |
| YouTube Shorts | youtube.com/shorts/… | Vertical MP4 up to 1080 × 1920 |
| YouTube Music | music.youtube.com/watch?v=… | MP3 or M4A audio |
| Search words | “lofi study mix” | A results list, pick one and convert |
Private videos, members-only uploads and live streams that are still running can’t be read, because YouTube only serves them to signed-in viewers. Y2Mate never asks for your YouTube login.
Which format should you pick?
For watching on a phone, 720p is the sweet spot: it looks sharp on a 6-inch screen and is about half the size of 1080p. For a laptop, TV or video editing, take 1080p. 1440p and 4K are only stored by YouTube as VP9 or AV1, which newer phones and PCs play fine but older devices and some editors don’t, so 1080p MP4 is the safe choice for most people.
For music and podcasts use the YouTube to MP3 converter page or the MP3 tab in the result. If you want the exact audio YouTube streams, with no conversion at all, pick M4A.
Why the old Y2mate sites gave silent videos
Since 2013 YouTube streams HD video and audio as two separate files (DASH). Only 360p still comes as one file with sound. Many downloaders grab just the video stream, so a 1080p file plays without audio. Y2Mate takes the video stream you chose and the best audio stream, joins them on the server without re-encoding, and sends you one MP4. The quality is exactly what YouTube stores.
Y2Mate on phone and PC
On Android, Chrome saves the file to the Download folder and it shows up in Gallery or Files. On iPhone, Safari puts it in Files › Downloads; open it and tap Share › Save Video to move it into Photos. On Windows and Mac the file goes to your Downloads folder. Step-by-step help for each device is on the video downloader guide page.
Is Y2Mate safe?
The site has no pop-up installers, no browser extensions to add and no notification prompts. Files are streamed to you and not stored on our server. As with any downloader, only save videos you own, Creative Commons videos, or videos the creator lets you keep, and don’t re-upload other people’s work.