4 Easy Ways to Get a Screenshot from a YouTube Video

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posted on 4 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Do you need to create a still image from a YouTube video? If you want to grab a screenshot from a video, you can use your device's screenshot function, download an add-on extension, or use a third-party website. To capture a frame without the video controls blocking the screenshot, you'll need to enter full screen and tap the screen (mobile) or play the video a few seconds ahead (desktop). This wikiHow will show you how to capture and download a frame from a YouTube video using your iPhone, iPad, Android, or computer (Windows or Mac).

Things You Should Know

On iOS, go to a video in full-screen mode. Pause and go to a frame. Use the lock button + volume up button to take a screenshot.
On Android, go to a video in full-screen mode. Pause and go to a frame. Use the power button + volume down button to take a screenshot.
On desktop, play the video 10 seconds before the frame. Wait for the controls to disappear, then take a screenshot.

Using a Mobile Phone or Tablet

Open the YouTube app. The YouTube app has an icon that resembles a red screen with a white 'play' triangle in the center. YouTube is available for iOS in the App Store and for Android in the Google Play Store. You can also go to https://www.youtube.com/ in a mobile web browser.

Navigate to a video. Tap the magnifying glass icon in the upper-right corner and use the search bar to search for a video by name, channel, or user. You can also browse videos by tapping the tabs at the bottom of the screen.

Switch to full-screen mode. To switch to full-screen mode, tap the screen to display the playback controls, then click the square icon in the lower-right.

Tap Android 7 Pause to pause the video. Tap the icon with two vertical lines in the center of the screen to pause the video. If you don't see the pause icon in the center to the screen, tap the center of the screen again to display the playback controls.

Drag the red dot to move to the frame you want to capture. The red line at the bottom of the video playback represents the entire length of the video. The red dot represents the current time in the video. You can tap and drag the red dot left and right in the bar to move to the part of the video you want to capture. You may need to tap the 'play' triangle to unpause the video to get to the exact frame you want to capture and pause it again.

Tap the video to make the playback controls disappear. If the playback controls on the screen are visible, tap an area of the screen that doesn't have any buttons to make the playback controls disappear. That way you only have the video frame visible on the screen.

Take a screenshot. The way you take a screenshot is different from one phone or tablet model make and model to the next. Use the following steps to take a screenshot on your phone or tablet: Android: The way you take a screenshot on Android can vary from one phone model to the next. Generally, you press and hold the Power and Volume Down button at the same time. If that doesn't work, press and hold Power for a few seconds and tap Screenshot. The screen will flash and you will hear the sound of a camera click. You can also swipe your hand vertically across the screen to take a screenshot on some Android phones and tablets. iPhone X and later: Press the Side button on the right and the Volume Up button at the same time. The screen will flash and you will hear the sound of a camera click. iPhone 8, 7 or 6: Press the Side button on the right, and the Home button below the screen at the same time. The screen will flash and you will hear the sound of a camera click. iPad, iPhone SE, 5 and earlier: Press the Power button on the top right side and the Home button at below the screen. The screen will flash white and you will hear the sound of a camera click.

Locate the screenshot. Use the following steps to find your screenshots on your mobile phone or tablet. iPhone & iPad: Open the Photos app on your home screen. Then scroll down and tap Screenshot. Android: Open the Gallery app on your home screen. Tap Albums at the bottom of the screen, and tap the Screenshots folder.

Using a Computer

Go to https://www.youtube.com/ in a web browser. You can view YouTube videos on any web browser on Windows or Mac.

Navigate to a video. You can use the search bar at the top of the page to search for a video by name, user, or channel. You can also use the options in the menu to the left to browse for the video.

Click Android 7 Pause to pause the video. Click the icon with two vertical lines to pause the video. It appears in the lower-left corner of the video when you place the mouse cursor over the video.

Switch to full-screen mode. Click the square icon in the lower-right corner to view the video in fullscreen mode.

Drag the red dot to about 10 seconds before the frame you want to capture. The red bar at the bottom of the video represents the entire length of the video. The spot with the red dot represents the current time in the video. Since there's no way to manually close the player controls, you must factor in time for the controls to go away.

Press play and wait. The player controls will disappear in about 5 to 6 seconds.

Take a screenshot. When the video arrives at the frame you want to screenshot, use the following steps to capture it: Windows: Press "Windows key + Prnt Scrn" to take a screenshot. The Print Screen button may read as "Prt Scn", "Prt Sc", "Print Scr" or something similar. On some laptops, you may need to press "Function" or "Fn" at the same time as the "Screen Print" button. MacOS: Press "Shift + Command + 3" to take a full-screen screenshot. If you want to take a screenshot on the current YouTube video screen only, you need to press "Shift + Command + 4".

Locate the screenshot. You can find the screenshot at the following location on PC and Mac: Windows: Press the "Windows key + E" to open File Explorer and click Pictures in the sidebar to the right. Then open the Screenshots folder. Mac: Screenshots are saved to your desktop in PNG format by default.

Using a Google Chrome Add-On

Open Google Chrome. This looks like a multi-colored circle. If you don't have it already, you'll need to download Google Chrome.

Go to the Screenshot YouTube download page. This is a third-party add-on that will add a Screenshot button to your YouTube videos.

Click Add to Chrome. This is the blue button. This will add the extension to Chrome. You may need to click Add extension if a pop-up menu opens.

Navigate to a YouTube video. Go to https://www.youtube.com/ in a web browser and search for a video. You can filter the search results if needed. Pause the video at the timestamp you want to screenshot.

Click Screenshot. This will be at the bottom of the video controls, next to the caption icon. Your screenshot will begin to download.

View your screenshot. Google Chrome will show downloads at the bottom of the screen. Click the screenshot file to open it in your default photo viewer. You can also click the arrow and click Show in folder to view the screenshot file location.

Using YouTubeScreenshot

Open https://www.youtubescreenshot.com/ in a web browser. You can use any desktop browser, such as Google Chrome, Safari, Mozilla Firefox, or another browser. This method will generate multiple screenshots from your video. You won't be able to pick a specific timeframe.

Navigate to a YouTube video. Go to https://www.youtube.com/ in a web browser and search for a video. You can filter the search results if needed. You'll need the video's URL, which can be found in the address bar.

Copy and paste the URL into YouTubeScreenshot. The field will be in the center of the webpage. To copy, highlight the entire URL and press CTRL + C (Windows) or CMD + C (Mac). To paste, click the field and press CTRL + V (Windows) or CMD + V (Mac).