Generally, when a video shared on Google Drive is marked as restricted, there is no permission to download it and there is no download option or button.
You can only view/play the video file on Google Drive.
However, we have a neat little trick that you can use to download the restricted view-only video on Google Drive.
By setting specific filters in the Chrome developer console you can separately extract the video component and audio component from the actual video file.
After that download the video component and audio component separately followed by merging them using a video editor of your choice.
This guide explains the entire steps that you need to follow the grab any restricted video off Google Drive if you don’t have a download button within a few minutes.
Disclaimer: Download restricted content at your discretion. I suggest you contact the owner for the download access. You are responsible for your actions. This guide is for educational purpose and should be implemented for personal use only.
Download a View Only Video from Google Drive
You can follow up with a live demonstration of the entire steps by watching our YouTube video linked below.
Let us start with the steps to save any video from Google Drive.
Extract the Video Only Portion [No Audio]
It is the first part of the trick. Carefully follow the steps and it will work 100%.
- Launch Chrome browser on your PC.
- Start by logging into your Google Drive account.
- Locate the video file shared with you and double-click on it to start playing.
- Now, quickly press Ctrl + Shift + C to view the Chrome developer console.
- Click on the tab Network.
- In the filter box, type mime=video.
- Wait to see some URLs appear under the Name column.
- Click on the Size column to arrange the URLs in ascending or descending order.
- Right-click on the URL with the highest size.
- In the context menu, select Copy > Copy URL.
- Paste the URL in a new Chrome tab. Do not press enter yet to open the link.
- Now, modify the URL you have pasted in the new tab by removing the portion starting from “&range” and onwards. [remove the part highlighted in blue in the URL]
- Press enter and the video will load in a video player.
- Click the 3-dot menu button in the video player.
- Select Download to save the video to your PC.
Now, the video will download to your PC but it won’t have any audio.
Do not close the Chrome Developer Console yet. We still have to download the audio.
NOTE: In the above steps, specifically in Step 3, press Command + Shift + C to launch the Chrome developer console if you use macOS.
Exatrct Audio File of the Video Downloaded Previously
Let us understand the steps to extract the audio from the restricted video file shared with you on Google Drive.
- In the Chrome Developer Console, go to the Filter box and set the filter mime=audio.
- Let the URLs appear under the Name column.
- Click on the Size column to arrange the URLs in ascending or descending order.
- Right-click on the URL with the highest size.
- In the context menu, select Copy > Copy URL.
- Paste the URL in a new Chrome tab. Do not press enter yet to open the link.
- Now, modify the URL you pasted in the new tab. Remove the portion in the URL starting from “&range” and onwards.
- Press enter and the audio player will load.
- Click the 3-dot menu button in the audio player.
- Select Download to save the audio to your PC.
Merging the Audio and Video
Now, comes the final part of the steps where you need to merge the video and audio you previously downloaded.
You may use any online free service to merge the audio and video to generate the complete video file.
Otherwise, on Windows 11 you can use the Clipchamp video editor to merge the audio and video files you downloaded separately.
In this article, I have shown how to merge audio and video using Clipchamp. It is a free tool you can find on the Microsoft Store.
- Launch Clipchamp on your PC.
- Click on Create a New Video.
- Press Import Media to get the audio and video files required to generate the complete video.
- After importing the media files, press the green + button on the audio and video files to add them to the editing timeline.
- Adjust the audio and video files in the timeline so that the sound and visuals synchronize properly.
- Once you preview play the entire file, click on Export.
- Select the video quality to start rendering.
- Set a name for the video.
After the video is rendered it will be saved to your PC. You can play this video using the VLC media player or any similar app.
You can even use the separate files to generate the complete video from the Clipchamp website.
Pointers to Note
There are a few observations I had during testing the trick which I would point out here.
Let the video play while you generate the video and audio URLs for download. Do not pause the video.
Make sure your PC is connected to a stable WiFi network and doesn’t disconnect when you are trying to capture the video or audio URL from the Chrome developer console.
Otherwise, when you copy the URL and modify it in a new tab, the URL will show as invalid.
Also, be very quick when capturing, copying, and modifying the URL in the new tab.
I noticed that if you delay around, then the URL you had copied to open in a new tab would become invalid.
Frequently Asked Questions(FAQs)
Does this Mime File Type Trick Works on Videos of All Size and Duration?
YES. This trick to download restricted videos from Google Drive will work for all types of videos.
Bottom Line
Sometimes, you may need a video file shared through Google Drive for offline viewing. With the tricks explained in this guide, you can download Google Drive videos that are marked as restricted.
This trick works fine if you correctly understand the steps and follow them. Do share in the comments if the trick worked for you. Stay tuned to DigitBin for more such tech tips.
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