How to Download YouTube App for Windows Ultimate Guide

Discover how to download YouTube on Windows. Start watching millions of free videos without a browser and have the same user experience with advanced features. You can do it in two minutes by following our screenshots, infographic, video tutorial, and FAQs.

According to Grand View Research, the video streaming market value in 2021 amounted to $59 billion, with YouTube having over 2 billion logged-in users every month. This confirms the trend that video entertainment is growing and streaming services are ruling the industry.

There are many video streaming platforms worldwide, and YouTube is one of the major players. It’s free and offers millions of videos. You need just a computer, an Internet connection, and a browser.

But what if you can make things easier, faster, and more satisfying with a desktop app that doesn’t require any browser? You can do that through the YouTube app.

Unfortunately, the Microsoft App Store offers only the Xbox version, but there’s a solution for Windows users: installing the YouTube PWA (Progressive Web App). It’s free and straightforward. Let’s see the process step-by-step and the requirements.

Price	Free
Genre	Entertainment, Video streaming
Platform	Windows with Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge
Release Year	2021
Size	Lightweight

About YouTube

YouTube is a global online media streaming platform launched on February 2005. It’s part of the ‘Google empire’ and is, to date, the second most visited website in the world after Google itself. YouTube offers at least 800 million videos of any genre. Songs and music are the most consumed content.

But as an entertainment platform, YouTube operates in several categories, and the most popular are music, reviews, tutorial and education, interviews, Q&A, gaming, documentaries, challenges, sports, ASMR, and commentary videos.

If you wish to access YouTube without a browser, you must download the related Progressive Web App, the desktop version of the website offering the same experience plus additional features. Many websites developed a PWA, and YouTube ‘joined the club’.

You must have a supported browser to download YouTube PWA. But that would be the last time you use it to watch your favourite YouTube videos. The process will take a couple of minutes and a few clicks. So, let’s see how to download YouTube for Chrome and Edge users.

Download YouTube App for Windows: 4-Step Process Infographic

Make it quick

How to download the Windows YouTube Progressive Web App

How to Download YouTube PWA on Windows

Make it detailed

Premise: Forget the Microsoft App Store

You can find the YouTube app on the Microsoft App Store. But it’s only available for Xbox. Therefore, avoid it and move to the next step.

Microsoft Store YouTube App only for Xbox

Steps for Google Chrome

Visit the YouTube Website

1 Go to www.youtube.com using the Google Chrome browser.

Access the Google Chrome Menu

2 Click the three-dot button on the top right corner of the browser to open the Chrome menu. Scroll down and select ‘Install YouTube‘.

Click ‘Install YouTube’ on the Chrome menu

Install the YouTube PWA

3 Click the ‘Install‘ blue button on the pop-up window (or dialogue box). At completion, the app will open automatically.

Steps for Microsoft Edge

Open Microsoft Edge

1 Launch the Microsoft Edge official web browser.

Visit YouTube & Download the App

2 Go to www.youtube.com using Edge. Then Open the browser menu and click ‘Apps‘ > ‘Install YouTube‘.

Install the YouTube App

3 Click ‘Install‘ on the dialogue box. When complete, you will be asked to configure the launch. Flag one or more options (create Desktop shortcut, pin to taskbar, pin to Start, auto-start on device login) and click ‘Allow‘. The app will open automatically.

configure YouTube launch — Click Install on the pop-up

Launch the Desktop App & Enjoy

4 Next time, you can run the YouTube streaming platform by clicking the desktop shortcut or from your Windows taskbar and Start Menu.

YouTube app shortcut and Windows Start menu icon

You may be interested also in learning How to Download Prime Video Free Windows App (Complete Tutorial).

YouTube App System Requirements

Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge browsers

YouTube PWA Key Features

The YouTube app offers most of the main features of a PWA.

Native app-like high performance
Push notifications
Desktop shortcut and an icon in the Windows taskbar and start menu
Background processing
Touch support, in addition to mouse and keyboard interactions
Voice search
Double-tap to seek within the player
Web Share and Declarative Link Capturing
Offline videos (for Chromebook YouTube Premium users).

How to Download YouTube on Windows

Watch the step-by-step guide

A step-by-step video tutorial on how to download YouTube on Windows and watch videos without a browser

You may be interested also in knowing How to Watch and Download Disney Plus Movies on Windows.

YouTube Windows App/PWA FAQs

Is YouTube a PWA?

Many Google websites are already Progressive Web Apps (PWAs). After YouTube Music and TV, the regular YouTube website became a Progressive Web App.

Can YouTube PWA work without the Internet?

Offline videos are offered to Chromebook YouTube Premium users (you must download the videos on your device first).

What are compatible browsers?

You can download and install the YouTube PWA from Chrome or Microsoft Edge.

Are PWA apps Safe?

PWAs Are Secure. They follow HTTPS protocols like any other website or web application. PWAs benefit from all the security features built into web browsers.

What’s the difference between a PWA end native app?

A native app provides better or additional features than PWA, such as mobile payments via NFCs, geofencing, smart sensor usage, and inter-app functionality. These features don’t work well with a PWA.
However, you may not need that on your Windows desktop computer or laptop, for which, to date, the YouTube PWA is the only option available.

What’s your favourite video streaming platform? Do you think the YouTube PWA offers additional benefits compared to the browser version? What do you think is the best YouTube desktop app feature?

Let us know by commenting below, and feel free to request new app and game tutorials you would like us to create for you.