GenYouTube: Does It Still Work, and Is It Safe?

GenYouTube still runs, but not under its own name. On 24 September 2026, genyoutube.com and genyoutube.net, the addresses the name comes from, led nowhere, and their registration records list Google LLC, the company that owns YouTube, as the owner. The site itself now lives at genyt.net, where the home page loaded but the video page stayed behind a Cloudflare security check in both of our tests.

Below is what we tested, what its browser “extension” really is, and the ways YouTube itself lets you save videos.

The short answer

• Does GenYouTube still work? Partly. The home page loads, but its video page never got past a Cloudflare bot check in our automated browser, in two attempts about an hour and a half apart. A person may get further.
• Who owns genyoutube.com now? Google LLC, according to the registration records for both genyoutube.com and genyoutube.net.
• Is it safe? It asked for no password. The risks are a helper script that runs on every YouTube page and updates itself, and a web-push notification service on its pages.
• Is downloading YouTube videos allowed? Not unless YouTube allows it. Its Terms of Service forbid downloading except where the service expressly permits it.

What GenYouTube is

GenYouTube is a website for downloading YouTube videos. Its name comes from its trick of adding “gen” to a YouTube address, which turns youtube.com into genyoutube.com. It is not a YouTube service. The domain genyoutube.com was registered in November 2014 and genyoutube.net in February 2015; both now belong to Google LLC and lead nowhere, and the site itself now runs at genyt.net.

How we tested

On 24 September 2026 we opened genyt.net in a separate browser with no Google account signed in, pasted the address of “Me at the zoo”, the first video ever uploaded to YouTube, and recorded every request the pages made. We read the site’s extension pages, the script they install, and its terms, privacy and DMCA pages, and checked the registration records of genyoutube.com, genyoutube.net and genyt.net. We did not download a video, install anything or get past any security check. Our editorial policy explains how pages like this one are made and corrected.

What happened to genyoutube.com

• genyoutube.com (registered November 2014) and genyoutube.net (registered February 2015) do not lead to any website.
• Both registration records name Google LLC as the registrant, through the brand-protection registrar MarkMonitor. They do not show how Google came to hold them, and we found no public statement.
• genyt.net still tells visitors to add “gen” to a YouTube address, which turns youtube.com into genyoutube.com, one of the Google-owned addresses that lead nowhere.

What genyt.net did when we used it

• The home page loaded, with a cookie notice whose only button is “Got it!”.
• It loads a notification service. The page includes iZooto, a web-push notification service, and Google’s Firebase Cloud Messaging, which together let a site send notifications to your device after you leave if you allow them. It also loads Google Analytics, and the script for AddThis, a sharing service that its owner Oracle shut down in May 2023.
• The video page did not open for us. Pasting the video address led to video.genyt.net/jNQXAC9IVRw, which showed Cloudflare’s “Performing security verification” page in both attempts, so we never saw its download options.
• Nothing was asked of us. There was no password field, and no new tab opened.

The “extension” is a script that runs on YouTube

GenYouTube offers extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Safari. None of them is an extension from a browser’s store. Each page tells you to install Tampermonkey or Greasemonkey, genuine tools that run small scripts on websites, and then to add GenYouTube’s own script, helper.user.js. We read that script, version 1.5:

• It runs on every page of www.youtube.com that you open.
• It is allowed to make its own web requests, beyond what a normal web page can.
• It updates itself automatically from genyt.net.

The version we read only adds a download link to video.genyt.net, and we found nothing harmful in it. But because it updates itself, whoever runs genyt.net can change what it does on YouTube at any time, for everyone who installed it. If you installed it, delete it from the Tampermonkey or Greasemonkey dashboard. The instructions have not been kept up either: the Safari page tells you to click “Add to Chrome”, and the extension pages still link to a Google+ page, although Google closed Google+ in 2019.

What GenYouTube says about itself

• Its DMCA page says it hosts no videos and that everything is served by YouTube through YouTube’s own programming interface.
• Its privacy policy says it collects your IP address, browser details and cookies and shares information with third parties, naming Google Analytics. It also talks about “customers” and “products”, although the site sells nothing.
• Its terms and footer name GenYT.net, not a company.

Is it allowed?

YouTube’s Terms of Service say you may not “access, reproduce, download, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, alter, modify or otherwise use any part of the Service or any Content except: (a) as expressly authorized by the Service; or (b) with prior written permission from YouTube and, if applicable, the respective rights holders”. Downloading someone else’s video can also infringe the creator’s copyright.

Ways YouTube itself lets you save videos

• YouTube Premium lets members download videos and playlists in the YouTube app to watch offline (YouTube’s help page).
• Your own uploads can be downloaded as MP4 files from YouTube Studio: open Content, choose the video, then open its menu and choose Download (YouTube’s steps).

Frequently asked questions

What is GenYouTube?

GenYouTube is a website for downloading YouTube videos, named after its trick of adding “gen” to a YouTube address. It is not a YouTube service. Its original addresses, genyoutube.com and genyoutube.net, now belong to Google LLC, and the site runs at genyt.net.

Is GenYouTube safe?

It asked for no password in our test. The risks are a helper script that runs on every YouTube page and updates itself from genyt.net, a web-push notification service on its pages, and downloading that YouTube’s terms do not allow.

Does GenYouTube still work?

Only partly in our tests on 24 September 2026. The genyt.net home page loaded, but its video page stayed behind a Cloudflare security check in both attempts, so we could not see any download options.

What happened to genyoutube.com?

It leads nowhere. The registration records for genyoutube.com and genyoutube.net both name Google LLC, the company that owns YouTube, as the owner. The site now runs at genyt.net.

Is genyt.net the same as GenYouTube?

genyt.net is where GenYouTube now runs: its extension pages and script still use the GenYouTube name, and it still tells visitors to add “gen” to a YouTube address. We could not tell who runs it, because its terms and footer name GenYT.net, not a company.

Is it legal to download YouTube videos with GenYouTube?

YouTube’s Terms of Service forbid downloading content unless YouTube expressly allows it or gives written permission, and downloading someone else’s video can also infringe the creator’s copyright. This is general information, not legal advice.

How can I download YouTube videos legally?

Use what YouTube itself offers. YouTube Premium members can download videos and playlists in the YouTube app to watch offline, and you can download your own uploads as MP4 files from YouTube Studio.

We will re-test GenYouTube if its behaviour changes. If you see something different, tell us through the contact form.