14 DAY TRIAL // A few days ago, YouTube made a rather vague announcement that it was going to start enabling offline viewing in the mobile apps sometime later this fall. The site didn't explain what exactly this meant for users and how it will work, as the announcement was meant for video creators, not regular YouTube users.
But more details are now surfacing thanks to an email YouTube sent partners, uncovered by AllThingsD.
By default, all videos will be downloadable, meaning users will be able to pick some to save to their device in case their Internet connection is acting up or they don't have coverage. But partners can disable the functionality for any video they want.
Downloaded videos will be watchable even without an Internet connection, via a dedicated "on device" section in the app. The videos will be available only during a 48-hour window; after that, the device will have to go online for the window to be refreshed.
"On the YouTube app, users will be able, through 'add to device' functionality available on videos and playlists, to designate certain content that they can watch for a short period of time when an internet connection is unavailable," YouTube explained.
"With this, if a user experiences a loss of connectivity, they will still be able to watch the videos that they've added to their device for a limited period of up to 48 hours," it added.
The reason why Google is making this possible now, despite doing all it can to block downloads in any other form, is that it can finally offer ads offline as well. In-stream ads will be cached to the device and shown ahead of the video even without an internet connection.
YouTube mentions that movie and TV show rentals, which are available through the site in some countries, though most users may not be aware of it, won't have this functionality. However, it doesn't say anything about music videos, arguably the most popular video category on the site.