The downloader I've always wished for

You'll want to bookmark this one  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ [Cool Tools, by The Intelligence](#) Brought to you by: [Brilliant logo]()​ We used to say "the internet is forever." And that's true, in a way. But have you noticed that more and more things seem to have vanished from the internet? That's why it's a good idea to download your own backup copy of anything that's really important. Maybe a family member shared an important video on social media and you want to ensure you have a copy. Yes, you may want to download a video from YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or other services. But they don't make it easy! No, if you plug "youtube downloader" or something similar into Google, you'll find a mess of confusing and advertising-filled websites. Yuck. That's why I was thrilled to find an awesome web-based downloader anyone can use in seconds. It's completely free and doesn't have any ads at all. You'll want to bookmark this one. [Chris Hoffman, Author of Windows Intelligence] Chris Hoffman​ Author of [Windows Intelligence]()​ --------------------------------------------------------------- SPONSORED MESSAGE Before we get to that, answer this quick question: How do you learn best? If you said by actually doing, you are gonna want to hear about this… [Yoda saying "Learning you are"]()​ Whether you’re looking to enhance your professional skills or just feed your curiosity, [Brilliant]()makes it easier than ever to sharpen your mind. With courses in AI, machine learning, data science, and so much more, you can learn entirely new concepts in just 15 minutes a day. How it works: 🏫 Each lesson is packed with hands-on problem solving 🎉 Makes complex topics engaging and fun ⏲️ Bite-sized lessons that fit into your busy schedule ➜ [Learn by doing with Brilliant, and watch as difficult concepts become clear.]()​ [START YOUR 30-DAY FREE TRIAL ➜]() ​ Download videos, songs, and more from popular websites The web is full of terrible "YouTube downloaders" you should avoid. But there's a real need for tools like this one: You may want to download your own offline copy of an important video in case if vanishes from the web. ➜ This tool can download videos and audio from YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Soundcloud, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat, X, and lots of other social media sites. ⚠️ It's up to you how you use a tool like this one. You can use it for all sorts of purposes, including downloading backups of important videos shared by your loved ones on their social media. Be sure to behave ethically and follow the terms of service of any site you use. ⌚ You can use this web-based tool in about 2 seconds on any device. It's called [Cobalt](, and it's a simple, totally free website with no ads at all. Just point your browser to [Cobalt.tools]( to use it. It's incredibly simple: Just paste a link to the web page that contains the video or audio you want to download. Then, press Enter or click the ">>" button. The video or audio file should download immediately. [The Cobalt.tools website.] There are other things you can do with Cobalt — you could download just the audio of a YouTube video, for example. There's also a Settings page where you can tweak video and audio formats. But you don't have to do anything other than paste in a link. Cobalt will handle the rest with the "Auto" setting. Cobalt just got a major update so it's shinier and should work better than ever, too. Give it a try. Thanks to the always awesome Jared Newman for recommending this tool! His [Advisorator newsletter]( is another great source of tech tips. 📌 Head to [Cobalt.tools]( to use it it in any browser. 💰 Cobalt is completely free and has no ads. The project does accept donations, though! 🕶 Cobalt promises not to store anything about you. It's open source, too. Now, speaking of social media-related things vanishing... ​ This Week's Cool Tools Quiz Which web browser once had its own associated social media network, complete with blogs and photo albums? Remember: NO CHEATING! Anyone can look up info on the web. Stick with the spirit of the game and test your actual knowledge without searching. It's just for fun, anyway! [Firefox](=) [Opera](=) [Internet Explorer](=) [Safari](=) Answer correctly before next Wednesday and secure your spot on the [Cool Tools Leaderboard](=)! 👉 Last week's question and answer: What year did Google Calendar first become available as a beta service? Google launched Calendar in beta that year, following an engineer’s work on the service as part of his 20% free time at the company. The full, non-beta launch followed three years later, in July of 2009. 🤚 Wait! Before you go: What'd you think of this issue? [Thumbs Up](=) [Thumbs Down]( Hit the thumbs-up or thumbs-down to cast your vote and let us know. ​ Want less email? [Update your reading preferences](=) to opt out of any individual publications or unsubscribe entirely. New here and not yet subscribed? Take two seconds to [sign up for our newsletters](): Cool Tools, Android Intelligence, or Windows Intelligence (or all three!). Hungry for even more? [Learn about becoming an Intelligence Insider,](=) our one-of-a-kind community where you'll have access to power-packed advanced resources, an on-demand help desk, and tons of free apps and services. Independent journalism relies on you. 🤝 An [Intelligence Insider membership](=) is the best way to support our work and keep this newsletter sustainable. Not ready for a membership? You can also support our work by making a [direct one-time contribution](=) (or contribute via [PayPal]( or [Venmo](=)) to ensure we're able to keep writing for you long into the future! # # Published by The Intelligence • 2733 E. Battlefield Rd. #255 • Springfield, MO 65804