Video Downloader, Download All

Review by eFreeware

Video Downloader, Download All is a free Android app from Shotcut Video Workshop, published under the Video Players & Editors category. It pairs a browser with a downloader, so the finding and the saving happen in the same place rather than across two apps. That combination is the main reason to consider it.

The app has been on Google Play since August 2019 and has passed 50 million installs, with a 4.5 average across more than 224,000 ratings. Those numbers suggest a tool that a lot of people have picked up for a fairly ordinary task: keeping a copy of a video they want to watch later.

What follows is a look at what the developer describes, what the app is built to do, and where its own stated limits sit. I have not run it; my judgments are about the design and the feature set as presented.

A browser and a downloader in one place

The core of the app is a private browser. You use it to move around the web and find videos, and the downloader watches for media links as pages load. When it spots something playable, the developer says you can save it with one tap, and it can also pick up links in the background while you keep browsing. That last part is the feature I would value most, because it turns a deliberate chore into something that happens while you read.

Downloads are meant to land in private folders rather than in a general downloads directory. The idea is that saved files stay in a separate space, and the app treats that separation as one of its selling points. It is a simple idea, and for anyone who saves clips they would rather not have sitting in plain sight, a useful one.

The app also includes a built-in player, so a finished download can be watched without leaving for another app. The developer notes that videos can be converted to mp3 audio as well, which stretches the same download into a music file when that is all you want.

Formats, resolutions and social sites

Format support is broad. The app handles mp3, mp4, m4a, m4v, avi, mov and wmv, among others, and it supports different resolutions rather than a single fixed quality. In practice that means the same clip can be kept at different resolutions, depending on what the source offers.

The app is also pitched as a downloader for all social media, the broadest claim made about it. I would read that as an intention rather than a guarantee, since what can be saved depends on the site and on what its pages expose. The app's own job is to detect the link and hand you the file.

HD downloads are part of the pitch as well, with the app described as a high-speed downloader for saving HD video in a single tap. I would treat the emphasis on speed as a description of intent rather than a fixed promise.

Private folders and the mp3 route

The private folder feature is the part that gives the app a second purpose beyond convenience. Videos you save go into private folders, and the browser that finds them is described as private too. Together they make the app feel like a small vault for media rather than just a utility for pulling files off the web.

Converting a downloaded video to mp3 is the other feature worth singling out. It means a single saved clip can serve two jobs: watching now and listening later, without a separate audio tool. For anyone who collects interviews, talks or music videos, that is a sensible shortcut.

The app does the downloading itself rather than handing the job to something else.

What the app asks of you, and what it will not do

Legal restrictions mean YouTube videos cannot be downloaded. That is a hard boundary, and it removes the single most common source people think of when they hear the words video downloader. Anyone whose main interest is saving from that site will find the app cannot help with it.

The second is a request rather than a restriction: the developer asks that you get permission from the owner before reposting anything you save. That is a plain instruction about how the app is meant to be used, and it puts the responsibility for copyright on the person doing the downloading.

The app is free to install and carries ads, and it also offers in-app purchases.

Suited to collecting clips across many sites

The app is built for someone who regularly comes across video on the open web and wants to keep it. If you follow a handful of sites that publish clips, talks, or short pieces, and you would rather have a local copy than a bookmark, the browser-and-downloader pairing saves you a step every time. The format range means the same tool covers video and audio.

It also fits people who care about where saved files end up. The private folders give downloads a home of their own, which is the sort of detail that matters if the device is shared or simply busy.

The app is narrower than its name suggests in one respect, since the YouTube restriction rules out the most obvious target. For sources that are not covered by that restriction, the combination of detection, format support and a built-in player is a reasonable package for a free download.

A free grabber for non-YouTube sources

Video Downloader, Download All is worth installing if your video saving happens across general websites and social platforms rather than on YouTube. The private browser, the automatic link detection, the private folders and the mp3 conversion add up to a tool that covers finding, saving and listening in one place, and the install numbers suggest plenty of people have found that combination useful.

The caveats are stated by the developer and are easy to weigh. YouTube is off the table for legal reasons, you are asked to secure permission before reposting, and the app is ad-supported with in-app purchases attached. None of that is hidden, and none of it changes what the app does.

If you want a single free app for pulling clips and audio off the web and keeping them tucked away, this is a sensible one to try. If the site you use most is the one it cannot touch, the rest of the feature set will not make up for that.

What's new in version 1.89.0

Bug fixes and performance improvements.