Why GoFetch Does Not Support Downloading YouTube Videos

Many users ask the same question the first time they use GoFetch: why doesn't anything show up on YouTube? This is not a bug — it is by design. Due to copyright restrictions and the Google Chrome Web Store developer agreement, GoFetch cannot and will not support downloading YouTube videos. Here is why.

1. Copyright restrictions

YouTube uses Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology to protect its video content. DRM encrypts the video during transmission and decoding, so only authorized players can play it. Even if a download tool manages to grab the data, all it gets is unplayable ciphertext.

Circumventing DRM is not only technically infeasible — it may also violate copyright law in many countries and regions. That is why GoFetch is designed without any capability to bypass copyright protection. This applies not only to YouTube but to every site that uses DRM, such as most licensed streaming platforms: GoFetch cannot support downloading those videos either.

2. The Chrome Web Store developer agreement

Under the Google Chrome Web Store developer agreement, extensions must not offer functionality for downloading YouTube videos, nor encourage users to circumvent YouTube's terms of service. Most video downloader extensions, including GoFetch, are bound by this rule.

Violating it would get the extension removed from the store, and users would stop receiving feature updates and security fixes. To remain listed on the Chrome Web Store and keep improving the extension for everyone over the long term, GoFetch strictly follows this agreement.

3. GoFetch only works with common web video playback technologies

GoFetch is a general-purpose web video sniffer and downloader: it listens to the network requests made by the browser and recognizes resources that use common video playback technologies. Specifically, it supports the following types:

• m3u8 (HLS) streams: the site splits a video into small segments and organizes playback with an m3u8 playlist. GoFetch detects the playlist, lists the available qualities for you to choose from, downloads every segment, and merges them into a single MP4 file.
• HLS with separate video and audio: some sites serve the picture and the sound as two independent m3u8 playlists. GoFetch downloads both tracks and merges them locally into one MP4 with full audio and video.
• m3u8 playlists disguised as plain text: some sites return m3u8 playlists with a .txt extension or a text/plain content type to evade detection. GoFetch reads the response body, recognizes the m3u8 signature, and handles it as usual.
• Direct file links in HTML5 video tags: video files referenced directly by a video tag on the page, such as non-streaming MP4, WebM, and similar formats, can be downloaded as-is.

Conversely, GoFetch cannot download online videos that do not use these technologies or that are encrypted (such as AES-128 encrypted HLS or any form of DRM). Since YouTube's playback and protection technologies fall outside the common web video playback technologies listed above, GoFetch would be technically unable to support YouTube even setting aside the first two reasons.

4. Please be mindful of copyright when using GoFetch

Although GoFetch does not support YouTube, it works well on many other sites that use common playback technologies. A reminder is in order, though: being able to download a video does not mean you have the right to use it. Whether a video is copyrighted has nothing to do with how easy it is to download.

GoFetch cannot identify all copyrighted content and assumes no responsibility for it. Please only download videos you are entitled to save — for example, content you uploaded yourself, materials explicitly offered for download, or works in the public domain — and comply with the laws of your region and the terms of the websites you visit. Downloaded content is for personal study and research only; do not redistribute it or use it commercially.

FAQ

Will YouTube ever be supported?No. As long as the Chrome Web Store agreement remains in place, GoFetch will not add support for YouTube.

Nothing shows up on other sites either — what can I do?First make sure the video is actually playing in the page, since detection relies on real network requests, then open the extension popup. If the video is DRM-protected or uses an uncommon proprietary protocol, GoFetch cannot download it either. If you believe a site is being misdetected, let us know through the feedback page.

I just want to watch YouTube offline — is there an official way?You can use the offline download feature built into the official YouTube app (a YouTube Premium subscription is required in some regions), which is the platform-endorsed way to watch offline.