Last updated on May 22nd, 2023
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Tired of downloading videos from the Internet? Then, you come to the right place as this article going to reveal some of the proven methods to get almost any videos on the net.
There are several methods that we can use to download a video from the Internet:
- The most common way is to use video download software. The software is dedicated to downloading web videos and it’s either Windows-based or Mac-compatible. The recommended good streaming downloaders like StreamFab DRM video downloader are not free!
- The alternative method is using a browser extension or add-on. This kind of extension is mostly free to download and it’s integrated with the browsers like Google Chrome, Firefox, and MS Edge to download the online videos.
- As a third and final option, you may download a video directly from the web using video grabbing sites or what we called it an online video downloader.
To be honest, the second and third methods cannot guarantee that you can download all the videos that you like. Anyway, this article will reveal some of the great browser add-ons that you can use to download online videos.
Top 3 Browser Extensions or Add-ons for Video Downloading
If you are not familiar, the Internet browser is a program that we use to search for information online. Well-known browsers include Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, etc.
However, when looking for add-ons we are more focused on Firefox extensions as Google does not allow any extension in Google Chrome to download YouTube videos. Since the extensions were developed by third-party software developers, some of them still can be used on Chrome.
Also, some extensions required you to restart the browser before you can use it while others may require you to restart the PC.
If you want to search for any popular Firefox add-ons, here is the link: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/. We do recommend some of the top add-ons to download videos.
Extension #1: Video DownloadHelper for Firefox and Chrome
This is one of the greatest extensions to download and convert web videos from hundred of video-sharing sites and save them to your computer hard drive. The add-on is available for both Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome browsers.
Video DownloadHelper supports several types of streamings, as well as Twitter Periscope, making it unique amongst video downloaders. It can support all the popular video-sharing sites including Youtube, Facebook, Dailymotion, Vimeo, Metacafe, UStream, etc.
With this add-on, you can capture the full browsing session and generate a video out of it. With the additional add-on, you are also able to convert videos and merge several videos into a single file.
Install & Download Videos using a Video DownloadHelper – Firefox extension
- Launch Mozilla Firefox, go to the extension page at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/video-downloadhelper/, and click on Add to Firefox button.
- It will take some time to start the installation, then you will be prompted by the browser to confirm the installation, click the Install button. After a few seconds, the installation was completed.
- Immediately from your Firefox browser, you will notice the “Video DownloadHelper icon” just beside the page URL (address bar).
- Once you navigate to the particular video page, for example, you can open any video, just click the Video DownloadHelper icon and click on the right arrow at the end of the entry and choose the “Download” option to download the video to your hard drive.
Install & Download Videos Using a Video DownloadHelper – Chrome extension
- Launch the Google Chrome browser and navigate to the Video DownloadHelper extension page – https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/video-downloadhelper/lmjnegcaeklhafolokijcfjliaokphfk
- Click on the “Add to Chrome” button. Click Add extension button again when prompted to confirm the installation of Video DownloadHelper.
- After downloading and installing it, you can start using the extension. The steps are very similar to the steps above (Video DownloadHelper for Firefox).
Extension #2: Youtube Video Downloader for Chrome & Other 8 Browsers
This download helper tool lets you easily download videos and audio from many audio-video sharing sites like Youtube, Facebook, Metacafe, Dailymotion, etc.
One great thing about this extension is that you can download 4K Youtube videos, download Youtube Shorts, and convert Youtube videos into formats like MP4, AVI, FLV, MP3, and more. You even can cut the portion of the video or snap a screenshot of it.
The installation of this extension is similar to the other add-ons. However, you need an extra Foxified extension in order to make this extension work.
To Download & Install the Youtube Video Downloader Extension
Download the extension by navigating to the link below:
https://addoncrop.com/v17/youtube-downloader/
Click on the “Add to Chrome” button and you will ask to install the Foxified extension as it’s needed for this extension to work. Click on the “Let’s Go” button to proceed. You will redirect to the Chrome web store, click on the “Add to Chrome” button and then proceed to click on the “Add Extension” button.
You will see the extension was installed and also install the Youtube video downloader extension. During the installation, you will see the following screen:
Click on the “Allow Permissions” button to proceed. When you see a pop-up, click on the “Allow” button to complete the installation.
Once installed, you can see the extension icon is available on the extension toolbar (right beside the address bar).
To Download Videos From Youtube
First, navigate to the video that you wish to download.
Click on the “YouTube Downloader by Addoncrop” icon and you will see the download button.
Click one of the options and the video will be downloaded.
Extension #3: Download YouTube Videos as MP4
This is another popular extension that allows you to download videos from youtube and save it as Flv or MP4. It integrates a download button in the Youtube interface just below the player. You also can choose the video quality either MP4 360p or 720p.
This add-on can support many browsers. However, besides Firefox, you need to install an additional add-on in order to use this extension.
You should know that youtube is the largest video-sharing site on the Internet and this add-on only supports Youtube sites and not other video-sharing sites.
To Install and Use This Extension
- Open Mozilla Firefox, and navigate to the browser add-on page at https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/download-youtube/[currently unavailable].
- The installation of the add-on is pretty simple and the same as the steps outline in add-on #1. So, just follow the steps there.
- After installing the extension, go to youtube.com and choose a video to download. You’ll notice a new “Download” button below the player. Click the button and you can select one of the video quality formats that are available.
Disabling Extension or Add-on on Browser
Sometimes you may need to remove or edit the installed add-ons/extensions on your browser. Here are the steps that you can follow to disable the add-on on Firefox or Chrome.
To remove any add-on on Mozilla Firefox:
- Launch Mozilla Firefox.
- In the Tools menu, choose the Add-ons and Themes option.
- In the left-hand panel, Click on the Extensions. You will be presented with a list of installed extensions on Firefox.
- Click on the “three dots” beside the extension that you wish to remove and choose Remove.
- You may need to restart Firefox to see if the extension was totally removed.
To disable or remove any extension on Google Chrome:
- Launch Google Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/, and you will see a list of extensions installed.
- To disable the extension, there is an Enabled or Disabled option.
- If you want to remove the extension, just click on the “Remove” button under the particular extension.
Final Words
So, three browser add-ons or extensions to download videos introduced here can really help you to download almost any video online, especially from Youtube. If you want our recommendation, you can go for Video DownloadHelper.
If you just want to download videos from Youtube, you can use the Youtube video downloader extension as it’s proven to be capable and its supports almost all browsers on the planet.
Of course, some of the encrypted video sharing sites may not allow you to download the videos and hence you may need to use a stream video downloader to get the movie files.