Nowadays, free downloading videos from YouTube for ads-free, no buffering offline playback has become a major need, and Y2mate.com is a good tool for that job. But has it ever occurred to you that free, unlimited, no-registration YouTube video downloads might sound too good to be true? In the following article, you’ll learn about if Y2mate is safe, if it’s legal to use Y2mate, the potential risks of using Y2mate.com, and how to get rid of Y2mate from your computer.
Y2mate Review - Everything You Need to Know about Y2mate.com
What is Y2mate?
Y2mate.com is a free web-based downloading service, a website where you can download video and music from websites with videos like YouTube, Facebook, Video, Dailymotion, Youku, etc. It supports downloading videos to various video formats including MP4, M4V, 3GP, WMV, FLV, MO, MP3, WEBM, etc. The highest video quality for downloads is HD, and the music quality 128 kbps MP3 – good enough, considering YouTube compression.
As a worldwide famous website, Y2mate.com receives tons of traffic every day, whereas its server is surprisingly stable at most time and performs satisfying download speed for users. Moreover, providing 21 kinds of languages and featuring ease of use, Y2mate is totally worth its fame.
Is Using Y2mate Legal?
Though sounds a bit like a disguise, it is a common fact that what infringes the law is never a tool itself, but the unfair usage of an individual while using the tool. In the United States, “is using Y2mate legal” is the same thing as “if it’s legal to download YouTube videos”. If you’re using the tool to download YouTube videos for personal fair use only, that’s alright.
Note that the ground where the legitimacy of YouTube video downloads stands on might vary in different countries. I suggest you consult local copyright policies before any downloading action if you’re outside the United States.
Is Y2mate Safe?
Despite the merits, Y2mate does have ads on it. It comes crystal clear that the website profits with advertisements - probably the only way to keep a free online service up and running, but I say the ads amount is acceptable, and Y2mate is way better than those pages that redirect you all the time, even if you click accidentally on the blank place.
I wouldn’t call Y2mate.com a dangerous website, yet nor will I say it’s safe to use Y2mate.com. Here’re the reasons:
- Using third party websites to download videos online might compromise your privacy and even put you at legal risk. Remember, Y2mate will always have records for your download behaviors as well as your IP address.
- According to Y2mate.com terms of service: "The Site/Client or the apps in the Site/Client, may contain links to third party websites or clients("Linked Sites/Client").The Linked Sites/Client are not under our control and we are not responsible for any Linked Site, including any content contained in a Linked Site or any changes or updates to a Linked Site”. I guess the point here goes without saying.
- Although Y2mate.com may not be malicious, but the ads on it are always turn out to be risky. Many of these ads of which Y2mate.com doesn’t take any responsibility, could bring you malware, foisting software installation, personal data leak, PUA (potentially unwanted application), etc.
How to Download YouTube Videos Using Y2mate.com Safely
Check out the snapshot underneath, take a glance at the typical advertisements on Y2mate web page (in Chrome browser).
1) A notification from Chrome indicating that the website is asking permission to access Google notifications.
2) Ads posing like system notifications try to convince you that your computer is infected with and need their product immediately to save the day.
3) Obvious clickbait ads that catch your eyes with pictures of some hot chicks or eye-popping taglines.
4) An ad that links you to download and add an extension you don’t really need to your Chrome browser.
- As free users just looking for fast-download-and-farewell, what we need to do is be careful with whatever we click on. And the above-mentioned ones what you should steer clear of.
Safe procedure to download YouTube videos using Y2mate.com:
1. Copy the URL of YouTube video desired
2. Paste it into the URL box in the middle, Y2mate will automatically load the video
3. Scroll down to choose a preferred format and resolution
4. Click on the “Download” button to download YouTube video
Whenever you’re led to a new tab, that’s a redirect. Close it and return to y2mate.com to proceed the downloading. Again, keep your mouse away from the ads and notifications on the website, for the sake of your system security. DO NOT click on anything look suspicious.
Best Y2mate Alternative for Free and Safe YouTube Conversion
WonderFox Free HD Video Converter Factory is the best alternative to Y2mate. It’s a free and reliable desktop YouTube video converter that can fast and losslessly download high-quality YouTube videos to MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, MP3, and 300+ format and devices. No plugin, no third-party offer, no foisting toolbar, it’s 100 percent clean.
How to Get Rid of Y2mate Notifications/Pop-ups/Addon/Ads/Virus
Are you pissed off at Y2mate keeps popping up, sending you code, sending notifications, showing ads, etc. and you have no idea wtf is going on?
Then this part can definitely be of help. Y2mate notifications, popups, ads mostly come as you allowed Y2mate.com to send notification; you have added their extension to your browser; or you’re infected with virus from some advertisement. There are some possible solutions that can help you get rid of Y2mate annoying harassments from your computer.
Try the following methods and see if Y2mate is gone. Otherwise, as many malware and virus nowadays could be tenacious, you might have to draw support from a proper antivirus software, like Norton, McAfee, Bitdefender, etc.
1. Remove Y2mate notification from Chrome browser
Launch Chrome > Hit the triple dots on the upper right side > Settings > Privacy and security > Remove Y2mate from “Allow”
2. Remove Y2mate extension from Chrome
Launch Chrome > Type exactly chrome://apps into the address bar and hit Enter on your keyboard > Right click on the Y2mate extension titled with MeddleMokey or Y2mate Download Button or similar > Select Remove from Chrome
3. Get rid of unwanted applications from Y2mate.com on your PC
On Windows 7, use Control Panel: Go to Start menu on your PC > Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a program
On Windows 10, open the Start menu > Settings > System > Select Apps & features from the left panel > Select the foisting app to uninstall > Click the Uninstall button
You can usually find a suspicious program from recent installation.
4. Reset Chrome browser to default to escape from Y2mate virus hijack
Note the Chrome browser will lose the saved passwords, bookmarks, etc. doing so.
Launch Chrome > Type in exactly chrome://settings/ in the address bar and hit Enter on your keyboard > Scroll down to the bottom and hit Advanced > Scroll down to the bottom and hit Restore settings to their original defaults > Reset settings
The Best Y2mate Alternative to Download YouTube Videos Actually Safely
WonderFox Free HD Video Converter Factory is the best solution to free download videos from YouTube, LiveLeak, Vimeo, MetaCafe, Facebook and 300+ video sharing sites. With simply copying and pasting videos’ URL, it helps you to fast and losslessly download up to 8K resolution videos, and even convert them to MP4, MOV, AVI, WMV, MKV, MP3 and 300+ formats for any-device playback.
Moreover, unlike online YouTube converters, not only can this program conduct the downloading job in higher efficiency, it won’t record your download behavior and leave no footprint of yours on the internet while downloading.