Whether using a YouTube Downloader is legal largely depends on your use of it and Youtube's terms of service, copyright laws. In the fine print,YouTube's terms prohibits downloading content without permission - excluding their own paid services. Section 5B of YouTube Terms of Service stipulates that users may not access, reproduce or download any content without express permission from the company.
One of the most common (but erroneous) terms thrown around is that if you post something in violation copyright it's called "copyright infringement. Learning While Streaming: Linking and Watching Copyrighted WorksCopyright law forbids the downloading of copyrighted content without permission. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has often stressed the necessity to respect intellectual property. In a report for 2022, the RIAA said that more than $2.7 billion in revenue is lost annually to ripping-off of music videos due to unauthorized downloads and sharing.
YouTube-MP3: A case of infringement and legalityThe most well-known example showing what happens legally when a person downloads then re-uploads content illegally is the famous lawsuit against YouTube-mp3. org, one of the most popular YouTube download sites. The site was closed in 2017, after a lawsuit by major music labels. The lawsuit set the tone for a music industry not willing to protect intellectual property and use copyright laws.
Others also suggest that downloading files for personal use may be considered "fair use." Fair Use is, however a dense legal concept that relies on several considerations like the position of use in terms of purpose and character, nature and effect (amount taken), market value for original work. Fair use is typically decided by the courts on a case-by-case basis, meaning it should be approached with caution as defense against downloading content without prior permission.
Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of World Wide Web once quoted - "The power of the web is in its universality. Free access (in health care terms) for all even of their disabilities is an important character. This quote supports the VERY important reason for making content accessible, but not under copyright law.
As for the user results, using YouTube downloaders can cause you to be banned or terminated from a channel. YouTube is strict and these violations will be tracked, repeated offenses may get your account permanently banned. Even further, these tools can also inject users with malicious downloads and security vulnerabilities as many illegitimate downloaders do not have robust security.
In terms of technology, YouTube uses different ways to protect their content that includes encryption and dynamic URL creation. These measures are intended to prevent unauthorised downloading and ensure content is consumed as creators and rights holders intend.
To answer the question, is it legal to download using a YouTube Downloader: No, not really when you are downloading copyright material without permission. To know about how to safely and legally access the content, Check this :- YouTube Downloader