Free Download Manager Takes Down YouTube Feature After Google Complaint

• The famous Free Download Manager software has removed its YouTube functionality.
• This happened after a complaint from Google, which has been cracking down on free stream-ripping download software.
• FDM says it's discussing this claim with the tech giant to resolve this issue.

Free Download Manager was forced to remove its YouTube support "temporarily" following a claim from YouTube's parent company, Google, regarding the downloads functionality on the video platform. Even though FDM mentioned negotiating with Google, any other details are not yet known.

One of the most well-known download software, Free Download Manager was mostly popular for allowing users to download YouTube content - a feature that is now no longer available. There is no official notice on the software’s website, but an FDM source developer confirmed that YouTube download features were rolled back deliberately starting October 16.

This move comes at the tail of major music labels taking action against stream-ripping services over the past few years. YouTube-MP3 was closed after legal issues, and Y2Mate, 2Conv, and FLVto are some examples of services that may shut down soon. Further, rightsholders have been moving to de-index these websites from Google and cut off accessibility from everyday users.

Correspondingly, YouTube has also been cracking down on free stream download services and blocking IP addresses. However, the video streaming platform recently started testing a functionality that lets its users download video content for offline viewing.

Google’s issues with FDM are ongoing, but they did not mention any other details or if FDM will be served any legal notices. YouTube has been sending these kinds of notices for years now. For smaller operators, this can be a warning well worth adhering to considering legal consequences.