With iOS 12, there is a new Shortcuts app from Apple. This app may seem a little daunting and confusing at first, but once you play around with it, it can prove to become  very useful. I have discovered a very valuable tool that all teachers (or anybody) can use to download and save videos from YouTube onto iOS devices. Years ago, there were apps such as Tubebox or Instatube. Those apps are now removed from the App Store. However, with this new feature from Apple, everyone can download any video online to show off-line at a later time.

Showing videos offline is very handy when WiFi may not be strong, when a teacher wants to avoid inappropriate YouTube ads and “screencaps” of other videos. Also, saving videos can be a lifesaver for parents to allow their kids to watch approved videos without using up precious data.

Here are the steps:

1. Go to the App Store and download the free Shortcuts app.
2. Click this link on your iOS device to get the save to YouTube and Shortcuts.
3. Find the YouTube video that you would like to save.
4. Tap the share button and find the three dots (MORE).
5. Find and tap on the Shortcuts option.
6. The videos should begin downloading immediately.
7. Save the video to Photos. It should take just a few minutes to get this set up for you.

That’s it! Now you have the video to show even without Wi-Fi. Please let me know in the comments if it worked, and share this post if it did.

Please check out this quick video I made that outlines the necessary steps.

Shortcuts is a very handy and practical tool that Apple has introduced. It is based on the third party app Workflow that it acquired in 2017. Play around with the app and the library and let us know which other ones are useful for you.

Remember, you will need to have iOS 12 downloaded onto your device for this to work!

Update: While some have had success with this, if the YouTube video you want is specifically marked with copyright, the shortcut will not work.

*Disclaimer: It is against YouTube’s terms of service to financially benefit from showing these videos offline. So, at the end of the day, it is really your personal decision whether or not downloading video from YouTube for personal use is something you should be doing. It should also be noted that immediately downloading videos will hurt creators financially. So, in the end it’s up to you. I would suggest watching videos online first!

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