How to Create a YouTube Video Archive/Backup
Need to back up all the YouTube videos that you've ever created?
I'll do you one better. I'll show you how to create a YouTube video archive that automatically imports all videos from your YouTube channel as soon as you upload them.
That means you can sit back after a one-time setup and never worry about if your videos are saved and safe. They'll be automatically drawn into a secure internet archive, and a copy will stay yours even if the original link dies or disappears.
Let's dig into creating your perfect YouTube video backup.
🗒️ Note: The tutorial below is meant to demonstrate how to back up your own YouTube channel videos. Please don't use this tool to back up videos or a YouTube playlist created by others. The system is not designed to import videos you do not own.
📖 What you’ll get out of this article:
• How to create a YouTube video archive using a tool that automatically imports and backs up your new videos as well
• Why use Authory to create your YouTube video archive instead of any other tool
How to create a YouTube videos archive in minutes
🗒️ Note*: Since I do not have any original videos on YouTube, I'll use an existing YouTube channel to demonstrate the process. **Please note that this is not my YouTube channel. I am simply using it to show how you can save all the videos uploaded to your own YouTube channel (videos created by you).*
A few quick notes before using Authory for YouTube backups:
Authory will back up all videos from your YouTube channels (yes, multiple) and save them even if the original link dies and/or is made private.
Imagine you are an interview guest somewhere, and this organization/individual eventually deletes the video or sets it private: you’ll always have your copy available.
You can make this copy (which is basically the original YouTube video but delivered from Authory’s server in a custom Authory player) available to anybody else, share it, etc.
You can add a YouTube channel, and Authory either imports all videos from that channel (if you own it and these are your videos), or only the videos with your name in the title/description.
Step 1: Sign up for Authory (for free)
Create an account on Authory for free using this signup link.
Step 2: Import and add your videos
Backing up a YouTube account
Click on “Add Content.” You can provide a source site from which all your videos will be automatically imported. You'll also be able to manually add videos by pasting the URL.
For automatic importing, click on “Automated import.”
Automatically importing YouTube videos from a YouTube account
Click "Add source."
Adding YouTube as a source
Choose YouTube from the list of sources.
Choosing YouTube as the content source
Feed in the name and URL of your YouTube channel.
Entering the name and URL of the YouTube account
Click “Start Import.” Your YouTube channel will be added as a source on Authory.
🗒️ Note*: It takes about 48 hours for Authory to import all your existing content from a new source. After that time, all new videos you publish will be imported instantly.*
🖱️ Authory is, amongst other things, a portfolio builder & content backup service, used by thousands of top professionals worldwide.
Step 3: View your YouTube backup on Authory
Return to the "Content" tab. Click the "Videos" checkbox on the left, and only your imported and backed-up videos will show up.
Backed up YouTube channel on Authory
Alternatively, click on your YouTube channel's name under "Sources" to the left, as seen above. You can also use the search bar (also highlighted above) to find YouTube videos from among the imported ones.
You can actually watch YouTube videos right within Authory. Just click on the video, and it'll open up for you to view within Authory. You can also click the "Open original" option (seen below) to watch the video directly on YouTube.
🗒️ Note*: It doesn’t matter if you want to watch a deleted YouTube video from your channel; you can do so on Authory. The only catch is that you have to import or manually add it before it is deleted.*
Watching backed-up YouTube videos within Authory
How to backup YouTube videos manually
Once again, go to the “Content” tab and click “Add Content.” Then, click on “Paste URL of content.”
Enter the URL of the YouTube video to import and backup
Enter the video URL. Click “Add.”
Adding URL of YouTube video
Choose the video source (that platform it is on). If it's from a new source, add it by clicking “Content is from new source.”
In this case, I'll use an existing source — Halloween Town.
Adding a source for a YouTube video
Click “Add.” The video will be saved on Authory. To add more videos, click “Add another item.” and repeat the steps above.
Adding more YouTube videos manually
See your video uploaded above.
All videos, whether imported or manually imported, are permanently saved. If you even want to watch deleted YouTube videos from your channel, you’ll find them on Authory (as long as you added them before deletion).
But why pick Authory over other archiving services?
It's a good question.
Tools like Google Takeout can be helpful in creating a YouTube video archive. The process is simple enough. However, you'll have to regularly initiate manual backups by taking snapshots of your YouTube page. If you take a snapshot of your YouTube account on a specific date (say, 24th Jan 2023), every video you create and upload after that won't be backed up unless you take another snapshot. You'll have to take another snapshot at some point to back up your videos after the previous snapshot date.
With Authory, however, you literally need to set things up once, and the tool takes care of the rest. Its auto-updating backup process requires you to only feed the name and URL of your YouTube account ONCE, and every video you publish on your channel after that is automatically imported and saved by Authory.
In other words, Authory doesn't just save your existing content but continues to import and save all the content you continue to put out on your YouTube channel. Again, the entire process is automatically driven.
Additionally, Authory's content database is searchable. So if you've imported 200 videos (with a few viral videos among them) and need to watch a specific one, you can just search using the video's title (full or partial). No need to scroll through all 200 to find the one you're looking for. You can even find deleted YouTube videos that you may have removed from your channel (after Authory imported them).
Since Authory's backup repository does not depend on the status of the original page, YouTube users and their subscribers will never lose a YouTube video (of your own creation) again. Any deleted videos will always be available on Authory. If you want to watch a deleted video, just search for it on your personal content database.
🗒️ Note*: Authory does the same for web pages, podcast platforms, etc.*
Curious? Then get started with Authory for free today!