YouTube Music introduces desktop downloads, improves offline listening for users on the web

YouTube Music, Google’s widely used music streaming service, has introduced offline music downloads for its desktop website to improve user convenience. This update brings the web experience in line with the features already available on its mobile app, allowing users to save their preferred songs and playlists for offline playback.

After a testing period, the feature was released more widely on March 29. While it’s not generally available yet, 9to5Google reports that some users have reported seeing a notification prompting them to check out the new feature alongside the Library tab.

Simple recording process

Saving music for offline use is simple. Users just need to navigate to the desired album or single page and find the download button between “Save to Library” and the three dot menu options.

Previously, offline listening was limited to the mobile app, so desktop users didn’t get this convenience. Similar to the mobile experience, content downloaded from the web now has its own “Downloads” section in the library, which makes it easier to use and organize.

Improved accessibility and functionality

Offline downloads on the online platform add to YouTube Music’s 10 device download limit, which is a generous amount that should accommodate most users. However, like the mobile app, the downloaded content expires if the device does not connect to the Internet at least once every 30 days.

This introduction is a significant milestone, especially considering YouTube Music’s lack of native desktop apps. Previously, Chromebook users had to resort to downloading an Android app as a workaround.

While it’s expected that downloading songs will require a YouTube Premium subscription, it’s still unclear if podcast downloads will be included in this feature. Compatible with Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Opera browsers, this update aims to improve the usability and functionality of YouTube Music’s online platform.