---
title: "If you think a video is likely to be censored, you may want to…"
date: 2019-03-19
source: facebook
type: Archer T. Ships shared a link.
---

# If you think a video is likely to be censored, you may want to…

*March 19, 2019 · Facebook*

:::::: {}
::: {style="margin:1.5em 0"}
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJVhueHe1ww](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJVhueHe1ww){rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"}

▶ Watch on YouTube
:::

:::: {}
If you think a video is likely to be censored, you may want to download it for later viewing / sharing. A useful tool I\'ve found for doing so is youtube-dl, a command line media downloader. It works on a vast number of websites, not just Youtube.\
\
[https://ytdl-org.github.io/youtube-dl/index.html](https://ytdl-org.github.io/youtube-dl/index.html){target="_blank"}\
\
Once installed, here\'s how to download a youtube video (from a terminal):\
\
\$ youtube-dl \--add-metadata \--restrict-filenames

::: {style="margin:1.5em 0"}
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJVhueHe1ww](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJVhueHe1ww){rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"}

▶ Watch on YouTube
:::

\
\
Here\'s what the flags mean:\
\
\--add-metadata \-- include metadata information such as upload date, uploader, etc in the mp4 file\
\
\--restrict-filenames \-- Restrict filename to only ASCII characters, and avoid \"&\" and spaces\
\
By default, youtube-dl downloads the highest video quality, and highest audio quality. If you\'re on a slow connection, you can add flags that will downgrade the video/audio quality.\
\
Here\'s how to install it on a Mac. From the terminal, issue this command\
\
brew install youtube-dl
::::
::::::