If you’ve pasted a YouTube link into VideoFetch, you’ve seen the message: YouTube and similar platforms are not supported. It’s right there on the homepage, and it’s not a temporary limitation or a bug we’re planning to fix. It’s a deliberate choice about how VideoFetch should and shouldn’t be used.
This page explains that choice in plain language: what VideoFetch is for, which platforms are blocked and why, and what we ask of you when you use the tool.
What VideoFetch Is For
VideoFetch exists to help you save video you have the right to save. Some everyday examples:
- A lecture or course video from a learning platform you’re enrolled in, to study offline.
- A video you or your organisation published on your own website, where the original file is no longer to hand.
- A news clip, public announcement, or webinar recording you need to keep for reference or research.
- Content that’s explicitly licensed for download and personal use, or that the owner has given you permission to save.
In each case there’s a video on a page, no download button, and a legitimate reason to want a copy. That’s the gap VideoFetch fills.
What It’s Not For
VideoFetch is not a way around the rules of streaming and video-sharing services. Platforms like YouTube, Netflix, and Twitch have terms of service that prohibit downloading their content with outside tools, and they invest heavily in the creators and studios whose work they host. Those creators are paid, in part, based on people watching through the platform. Pulling videos out from behind it undermines that, and it breaks the agreement every user accepts when they use those services.
We don’t want VideoFetch to be part of that, so we block these platforms outright rather than leaving it up to each user to decide.
Platforms VideoFetch Does Not Support
When you paste a link from any of the sites below, VideoFetch will stop before opening the page and tell you the platform isn’t supported. This list is built into the tool and applies to everyone.
| Type | Platforms |
|---|---|
| Video sharing | YouTube (including youtu.be links and YouTube Music), Vimeo, Dailymotion, Bilibili, Niconico |
| Subscription streaming | Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Prime Video, Max, Apple TV, Paramount+, Peacock, Crunchyroll |
| Live streaming | Twitch, Kick |
| Music | SoundCloud, YouTube Music |
Blocking applies to the platform’s main address and its common variations, so a shortened link, a mobile link, or a link with extra tracking on the end is treated the same way. Our post on browser extensions explains how VideoFetch works if you’re curious why this is straightforward for us to enforce: because the page opens on our servers, we can simply decline to open it.
We review this list from time to time and add platforms when it’s clear they belong here. If you think a site is missing, you’re welcome to tell us at support@videofetch.app.
“But I Own That Video”
We hear this most often about YouTube, and it’s a fair point: if you uploaded a video yourself, you do have the right to a copy. The good news is that you don’t need VideoFetch for it. YouTube lets creators download their own uploads from YouTube Studio, and most other platforms offer something similar in their account settings. That route gives you the original quality and doesn’t involve any third-party tool at all.
Because we can’t tell your video from anyone else’s when a link is pasted, the block applies to the whole platform. It’s the only way to keep the rule simple and honest.
What We Ask of You Everywhere Else
The block list covers the biggest platforms, but it can’t cover every website on the internet. For everything VideoFetch does open, the responsibility sits with you. Before you download, ask yourself two questions:
- Do I have the right to save this? Either because it’s yours, because the owner has said it’s fine, or because the licence allows personal offline use.
- Does the website allow it? Many sites spell this out in their terms of service. If a site says no, the answer is no, whether or not VideoFetch can technically find the video.
Downloading a video for personal reference is a very different thing from re-uploading it, selling it, or passing it off as your own. Please keep what you save for yourself unless you have permission to do otherwise.
How VideoFetch Itself Handles Content
A few facts that matter here. VideoFetch never stores or hosts video. When you download, the file goes from the original website to your device; nothing is kept on our servers. We don’t build a library of downloaded videos, we don’t share them between users, and each browsing session is discarded when it ends. VideoFetch is a tool, in the same way a web browser is a tool — it doesn’t make anything available that the source website isn’t already sending to your screen.
If you’re a content owner and believe VideoFetch is being used to infringe your rights, contact us at support@videofetch.app and we’ll respond promptly. You can also read our Disclaimer and Privacy Policy.
Common Questions
Will you ever add YouTube support?
No. This isn’t on a roadmap or waiting on a technical fix. YouTube and the other platforms above are excluded on purpose.
I pasted a link from a site that isn’t on the list and it still didn’t work. Is it blocked?
Probably not. If VideoFetch opens the page at all, it isn’t blocked — the video just wasn’t detected. See our download tips for the usual fixes, starting with pressing play.
Can I download a video that’s embedded from YouTube on another website?
No. An embedded YouTube player still loads its video from YouTube, so it’s covered by the same block even when the surrounding page is somewhere else.
Is downloading a video for personal use legal?
It depends on the content, the website’s terms, and where you live, and we can’t give legal advice. What we can say is that VideoFetch is built for content you have the right to save, and blocks the platforms where that’s clearly not the case.
The Bottom Line
VideoFetch is for saving video you’re allowed to save. Major video-sharing, streaming, and music platforms are blocked by design and won’t be added. Everywhere else, the tool trusts you to use it responsibly — and we hope you will.
