A free app that lets people download videos from YouTube and other platforms has soared in popularity, despite Google's attempts to crack down on services that flout copyright laws.
India-based Videoder claims on its website that its app has over 40 million users and supports 1,000 different platforms, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, allowing people to download videos and music to watch offline.
This is something that YouTube allows its users to do through YouTube Premium – formerly YouTube Red – but only paying customers are able to do it through its suite of official apps.
Interest in Videoder has surged in recent months, with Google Trends revealing that more people are interested in the India-based company than bitcoin.
YouTube did not respond to a request for comment about Videoder's popularity, however the Google-owned platform's terms of service make it clear that using third-party apps to download content is not allowed.
"You agree not to access content for any reason other than your personal, non-commercial use... and solely for streaming," the terms of service state. "Streaming means a contemporaneous digital transmission of the material by YouTube via the Internet to a user operated Internet enabled device in such a manner that the data is intended for real-time viewing and not intended to be downloaded (either permanently or temporarily), copied, stored, or redistributed by the user."
For its part, Videoder acknowledges that the service it offers may not be above board, stating on its website: "Videoder is not available on google playstore because of certain google terms and conditions which prohibits Youtube downloading apps for copyright concern [sic]."
Despite not being available through the Google Play Store, the app is readily available on Android and Windows through the Videoder website. It is currently not available for iOS or Windows Phone, however Videoder says iPhone and Windows device owners will soon be able to download YouTube videos directly through the Videoder site.
The Videoder app – available on Mac, Windows and Android – offers a far broader functionality beyond simply downloading videos and music from YouTube and other content providers, such as removing ads from video streams and providing lists of trending videos.
"You can always know what's trending when you are on Videoder," the firm states on its site. "The app has an amazing feed section which always helps you to stay in touch with the trend and discover new music, videos and artists."
