How to watch Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services offline

Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that we don’t always have access to our streaming services online. Maybe you’re on a plane, or stuck in a hotel, or don’t want to eat up your data just to watch Avatar: The Last Airbender. In the case of almost every streaming platform out there, the way to watch stuff offline is to download it. So how do you do that? Here’s how it works with almost every service.

The ubiquitous visual indicator of a downwards-pointing arrow makes the download option pretty easy to find. For example, it’s prominent in the Netflix options. Once you download something on that site, you’ll see a symbol for the device you used to download, and you can access what you downloaded from the dedicated menu in the app.

Another universal truth is that the downloading has to be done from an app. Whether it’s an app for a mobile device or a computer, the easiest way to find the download option is always to use an app. For example, the Prime Video app Amazon just rolled out for Windows 10 offers the ability to download shows and movies to your PC. Here’s what it looks like:

The options look much the same from Hulu:

HBO Max:

And Disney+:

Once you download a show, movie, or whatever it is, you can watch it offline whenever you like. The only thing I would caution users to beware of is that sometimes accounts have restrictions on how many things you can download, or how many devices you can download to.

And that’s it! Now you know how to download shows and movies to watch whenever you’re not online. Good luck!