4 Legitimate reasons to download streaming content

People quite often ask the question if saving streaming content is allowed and whether one can get into trouble for it. If a person downloads videos to pass them off as their own then of course they are doing something unethical. But there are also several legitimate reasons for saving videos offline for later use.

We will list and go through some of them here to show you that everything is not as black and white when it comes to saving streaming content.

Internet not fast enough for buffering

Although technology continues to evolve and people are getting hold of better Internet connections all the time, there are still millions of people coming onto the internet every day in developing countries where the technology hasn't caught up. Having to watch a movie that is buffering is very frustrating. You might argue that quality can always be lowered, but then again who wants to watch a grainy video if higher quality can be watched without interruptions offline.

Data plan limited or bad coverage

Even if you are living in a developed country with good internet connection you probably don't have the luxury of an unlimited data plan, most data plans are capped at 1Gb, unless you live in Scandinavia where they've got like 50Gb included in the normal carrier price.

So when you sit on the bus to and from school you can't just stream anything. You have to think about you limit. And even if you've got a better plan you might not have good cell-reception for the whole trip.

When going on longer trips

If you are going for trips abroad where you won't have constant access to internet it might be good to have some entertainment saved up. When I travel I usually save up some hours of content, mostly personal development but also humor sketches so that I can enjoy them while on a plane or a train without WiFi.

Content might get removed after a while

Some content creators might remove videos if they are up for a limited time only. Why should you have to watch the video during that time if you can just simply save it for later? Also streaming sites might block or remove users for whatever reason and then the videos usually also disappear at the same time.

Creating compilation videos

If you're a fan of creating compilation videos from various shows or maybe collecting the most funny scenes from some program you will need to be able to save the videos offline for editing. Just make sure you have the content creator's consent.

Conclusion

So now we've listed several legitimate reasons for saving content for offline use. Just make sure you're not using the material you're saving in a way that infringes on copyright laws.

Do you have any other good reasons for saving streaming content? Let us know in the comments below.