We finally have more details!
Announced last month, Youtube will be rolling out an offline mode for Youtube, allowing users to buffer videos on devices to watch later if they don’t have an internet connection, or if you’re trying to be frugal with your data plan. What we didn’t know was how and when this was going to implemented, but now Google’s explaining a bit more.
Through the Youtube app, there will now be an option to allow offline viewing. The videos stored through this setting will stay on the device for up to 48 hours. If the phone or tablet doesn’t connect back to the internet within that time frame, then the videos will no longer be available. For people who operate a Youtube channel, viewing stats will be updated once the device connects to the internet. This service will also work for certain types of Google ads, helping to keep monetized channels paying out.
This is pretty great. There have been a number of times I wished I could buffer videos before taking a flight, or where I might not watch a video because I don’t want to use a ton of data, but I could’ve pre-loaded the video while on WiFi. Google expects the offline mode should be available in November.
And if you aren’t already, you should subscribe to my channel on Youtube, so you can watch all my awesome gadget reviews offline. I’m shameless like that.
(via Youtube FAQ)