How to Download YouTube Shorts on Android
Save YouTube Shorts as MP4 or MP3 on any Android phone using Chrome. Where the file lands, how to find it in Gallery, and what to do when a download stalls.
Android handles browser downloads the way you would hope: files go to a Downloads folder, the gallery picks up videos automatically, and nothing needs installing. Saving a YouTube Short takes about twenty seconds.
The short version
- In the YouTube app, tap Share → Copy link on the Short.
- Open ShortsDL in Chrome, tap Paste, then Download.
- Tap Download MP4.
- The file lands in Downloads and appears in your gallery.
Step 1: Copy the link
Tap the Share arrow on the right-hand column of the Short, then Copy link. On the mobile website, copy the URL from Chrome's address bar instead.
Step 2: Paste it
Open ShortsDL and tap Paste beside the input box. Chrome on Android pastes without a permission prompt in most versions; if the button does nothing, long-press the field and paste manually.
Tap Download, and the result card appears with the thumbnail, title, channel, duration and quality badge.
Step 3: Pick MP4 or MP3
Download MP4 saves the video with audio at the badge quality — normally 1080p for a Short. Download MP3 saves just the soundtrack at 192 kbps.
The first download on a new device shows Preparing converter… while a 32 MB component loads once. It is what lets the phone merge YouTube's separate video and audio streams locally, and it is cached from then on.
After that you will see the download progress in megabytes, a short Merging… step, and then Done with the file size.
Step 4: Find the file
Chrome saves to Internal storage → Download. Three ways to get at it:
- Pull down the notification shade and tap the download notification.
- Open Chrome's menu → Downloads.
- Open the Files app and go to Downloads.
Videos are indexed by the media scanner within a few seconds, so the Short also shows up in Google Photos, Gallery, or whatever your phone uses. MP3 files appear in your music app for the same reason.
Samsung, Xiaomi, and other skins
The path is the same on every Android skin, though the file manager has a different name: My Files on Samsung, File Manager on Xiaomi and Oppo. If your phone's browser is Samsung Internet rather than Chrome, everything above still applies — downloads land in the same Download folder.
Storage permission prompts
Newer Android versions do not ask for storage permission for browser downloads at all; Chrome writes to its own downloads area. If you see a permission prompt, it is coming from your browser rather than from us, and allowing it lets the file be saved.
Common problems
The download stalls at "Preparing converter". It is the one-off 32 MB component. Switch to Wi-Fi and give it a moment; it will not happen again on this device.
"Can't download file." Usually storage space. Free a few hundred megabytes and retry — a 1080p Short is typically 3 to 10 MB, but the converter needs working room.
The video plays instead of downloading. Some in-app browsers (inside Instagram, Facebook or Telegram) intercept downloads. Tap the menu and choose Open in Chrome, then try again.
Old phone, no HD option. Very old Android WebViews cannot run the in-browser converter. ShortsDL detects this, says HD is unavailable, and falls back to a direct 360p download.
If the problem is not on this list, why a Shorts download fails goes deeper. On iPhone, see the iOS guide instead.
Ready to save a Short? Paste the link on ShortsDL.
Open ShortsDL