With the very high potential that iOS shortcuts or ‘shorcuts’ have, we could almost say that we can program any task on an iPhone. For example, download YouTube videos: we show you a practical shortcut that will allow you to save any video with a simple step. Even choosing the quality.
With Apple’s purchase of WorkFlow, the company incorporated into iOS 12 a way to achieve all kinds of automations. These, called shortcuts or ‘shortcuts’, allow options as simple as programming a timer so that we can wash our years correctly; getting to achieve actions so complex that some shortcuts have nothing to envy of a ‘common ‘ application. And for a sample we bring you a creation that will be very useful if you want to have a simple way to download YouTube videos.
Download video or play audio with screen off
The biggest advantage of an iOS shortcut is that they can be created directly on the iPhone or access the gallery to find one that suits your needs. Not only that, there are also repositories where the creators of ‘shortcuts’ upload their developments so that any iOS user can download them to their device. This is what we will do with YTScript, an impressive shortcut that allows you to download YouTube video at different resolutions, you can download only the audio and even play the video with the screen off .
YTScript is an iOS shortcut created by @net00. It is available to users on the RoutineHub page, it is not necessary to install applications to use it (apart from the shortcuts app, which is essential if you want to use this function) and the code is accessible in the shortcuts app.
To install the shortcut on your iPhone (or iPad) you must do the following:
- You have to accept the installation of rogue shortcuts. To do this, go to the settings of your iPhone, enter ‘Shortcuts’ and activate the aforementioned option, ‘Unreliable shortcuts’. This prevents the installation of ‘shortcuts’ outside the application gallery.
- Access the shortcut page with your iOS device and install it.
- Once installed (the YTScript card will appear in ‘My shortcuts’), touch accept its permissions: open the YouTube app, enter any video and click on the share arrow .
- Select ‘More’ from the share menu and click on YTScript.
- The shortcut will be executed automatically: you will see how each line of the code starts while it asks you for confirmation. You will have to choose the action you want (save the video, only the audio or play in the background). Then you will have to choose where to save the content and select the file name. The first time you run it, the shortcut will ask you for security confirmations.
Saving is very simple: the whole process is executed step by step following the marked code. You can share the link to download the video from the YouTube app or from the browser, you just have to select YTScript in the relevant menu. And, after having the videos saved, you can play them on your iPhone or iPad whenever you want.
The maximum download quality is 720p, the shortcut allows playback in the background through a floating window if you already have iOS 14, it allows you to listen to audio with the screen off and the whole process is carried out in a guided way and with visible steps. If you are used to downloading YouTube videos, YTScript will be very helpful.