How to install YouTube on PC

Preliminary information

Prima di enter the dettaglio della procedura su how to install youtube on pc, I think it might interest you to know more about this possibility.

Well, as you well know if you have already informed yourself a little about the subject, unfortunately there is still no official YouTube application for computers (the one on the Microsoft Store only works on Xbox consoles). However, this does not mean that YouTube cannot be “installed” on a PC.

In fact, in early 2021, Google released the YouTube's official PWA. What is it about? I'll explain it to you right away: PWA is the acronym for Progressive Web App and, to put it simply, these are installable versions of websites where developers can add interesting additional features as well, including support for offline content.

Unfortunately this is not the case with YouTube, as the YouTube PWA does not yet allow you to download videos offline, even if you are a YouTube Premium subscriber, but that may change in the future.

That said, without getting too technical, using the PWA you can make the YouTube icon appear on your desktop and use the famous video portal as a sort of application in its own right, independent of the web browser.

The only requirement to access this possibility is to use the Google Chrome browser or another browser based on the same engine, since the Mountain View company has released the PWA only for the latter.

How to install YouTube on PC

Now that you know the general situation, I'd say it's time to take action and install YouTube on your PC, or Mac (the procedure is also valid for macOS). Below you will find all the relevant information.

YouTube WEIGHT

The only solution to actually installing YouTube on your computer is to go through the PWA (Progressive Web App). To use the latter, you need to download and install the browser first Google Chrome.

To proceed, then connect to the appropriate official website and press the button Download Chrome. By doing so, you will get the installation file. Later, if you use Windows, start the .exe file obtained, press the button Yes and wait for the download and installation to finish. If you use a Macinstead, you just need to extract Chrome from package .dmg got to the folder Applications of the Mac. If you have any questions about the procedure, you can refer to my tutorial on how to install Chrome on PC.

At this point, once the browser has started automatically, it's all very simple: just reach the official YouTube portal and press the icon + present at the top right, inside the URL bar.

By doing so, a window will open asking you to install the YouTube app: just click on the button Install And that's it. In a few seconds you will find yourself with theapplication icon on the desktop (or in Launchpad, if you use a Mac) and with the PWA at your disposal.

Everything works similar to the website of the Google platform: you can log in and access the videos in exactly the same way. So you just have to use YouTube as usual, but this time you have a window dedicated to it, just like any program in its own right.

The only things you need to know is that on the top left is the button for reload the page, while the 'three dots icon located at the top right is used to access the settings and other features.

More precisely, from here you can press on the item Uninstall YouTube to remove the app, as well as use the classic functions also present on Chrome, from the zoom to the broadcast of the video stream, passing through the possibility of putting the PWA on all screen. If you're not very familiar with the platform, you might be interested in taking a look at my guide on how YouTube works.

In short, now you know everything there is to know about the Progressive Web App of YouTube. In case you are unable to install it on your computer, you could try to update Chrome and Windows / macOS to the latest version. If, on the other hand, you want to use another browser or are looking for an alternative solution to the PWA, read the next chapter.

Alternative solutions

How do you say? Don't want to use Google Chrome and are looking for workarounds to have the YouTube icon on your desktop or macOS Launchpad? No problem: I'll explain immediately what you can do.

In this regard, I recommend that you use Microsoft Edge, the default browser of Windows 10 and also available for macOS (I'm referring to its updated version, based on Chromium, i.e. the same engine as Chrome). Edge allows both to install PWAs and to create links to a site on the Windows taskbar or in the macOS Finder.

To proceed, open Microsoft Edge and connect to the official YouTube website. At this point, click on thethree dots icon, which is at the top right and, if you want to install the YouTube PWA, go to the menu App > Installa YouTube e dai confirms.

If, on the other hand, you want to add a YouTube link to the Windows taskbar or macOS Finder, go to the menu More tools> Pin to Taskbar / Pin to Finder.

After that, just click the button Add and theicon on YouTube in Windows taskbar or in MacOS Finder. By pressing on the latter, you can quickly open the YouTube website tramite Microsoft Edge.

In the latter case it is not a real application, but of a simple connection. However, it may come in handy in some contexts and act as a "substitute" for the PWA.

Actually other browsers too, including those that don't support PWAs allow you to create simple website links - to learn more, you can refer to my guide on how to link a web page.

For the rest, I highly recommend you to avoid unofficial YouTube clients made by third parties (therefore not by Google), as they may be there privacy issues, especially as regards the login with the Google account. This applies to both PCs and smartphones and tablets. Then don't tell me I didn't warn you!

How to install YouTube on PC