Offline downloads let you watch subscription titles without a connection, and on every major service the feature lives inside the mobile and tablet app rather than the browser. Netflix's long-published rule is typical: a download stays usable for 30 days, and once you press play you have 48 hours to finish it. As of July 9, 2026, most paid tiers include downloads; ad-supported tiers restrict them. Policies change, so check your plan's current terms.
Red Orb News publishes sourced information, not advice about which service to buy. The plan rules below are drawn from each platform's published help pages and dated accordingly; nothing here is a recommendation.
Which Streaming Services Let You Download Titles?
All five of the largest subscription services — Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Max, and Hulu — offer offline downloads through their iOS and Android apps, and Apple TV+ supports them as well. Amazon extends the feature to its app on some Fire tablets, a carryover from its hardware history. Downloads are tied to the account and the device that made them; they are files managed by the app, not copies you own, and they cannot be moved between gadgets or shared the way a physical disc can.
Why Do Downloads Expire After a While?
Licenses, not technology, set the clock. When a service licenses a film or series, that license covers streaming and temporary offline copies for defined windows. Netflix's stated policy — 30 days from download, 48 hours of viewing once playback starts, with the clock paused if you download the same title again — reflects how those windows are written. Disney+ and Max publish similar expiration rules, though exact lengths vary by title, and a small number of titles carry no download rights at all because of how they were licensed.
What Limits Apply on Ad-Supported Plans?
This is where plans diverge most. As of July 9, 2026, Disney+ excludes downloads from its ad-supported tier entirely — the feature requires one of the ad-free plans. Max likewise limits downloads to its ad-free tiers on phone and tablet. Netflix permits downloads on its ad plan but caps how many titles you can keep, and Prime Video includes downloads on all tiers through its app. Hulu's download support historically required its ad-free plan. Because these rules shift with pricing cycles, treat the platform's own help page, dated July 9, 2026, as the controlling version.
How Many Devices Can Hold Downloads at Once?
Every service caps simultaneous download devices, and the cap rises with the plan. Netflix's published limits run from one device on the cheapest ad-supported plan to six on Premium, which is also the tier that unlocks downloads in 4K where offered. Disney+ and Max set similar tier-based limits. If you deactivate a device or switch phones, the downloads on the old hardware stop playing — the rights travel with the account, but the files do not travel with the account.
Do Downloads Survive When a Title Leaves the Catalog?
No. When a licensing window closes and a title exits a catalog, existing downloads of it typically become unplayable, sometimes with notice inside the app and sometimes without. It leaves the platform, and the offline copy goes with it. That is a practical argument for watching downloaded titles sooner rather than stockpiling them, and for checking a title's remaining-window notes on long trips. The permanence some viewers assume downloads have belongs to digital purchases in storefronts, a different product with different rules.
What About Video Quality and Storage?
Most apps let you choose between standard and higher-quality downloads, and the difference is measured in gigabytes. A feature film at standard quality commonly lands around 0.5 to 1 GB; higher-quality files can run several times larger, and 4K downloads, where a plan offers them, can exceed 6 GB per film. A phone with 128 GB of storage fills quickly if a family loads a season of television before travel. Download quality can also be capped below what your plan streams, so a downloaded episode may look softer than the same episode played live on the same subscription.
What Should You Do Before a Long Flight?
- Update each app before you leave airport Wi-Fi behind; expired app versions sometimes refuse to play stored downloads.
- Confirm your tier includes downloads at all — ad-supported plans are the usual gap.
- Download over home Wi-Fi, not cellular, unless your data plan is generous.
- Start anything with a 48-hour viewing clock only when you actually plan to watch it.
- Leave headroom in storage; a full device can block playback of files already saved.
Handled that way, offline mode does exactly what it promises: the subscription you already pay for follows you into airplane mode.
For more context, read Streaming Ad Tiers: What to Know Before You Pick a Plan.
For more context, read internet speed for streaming.
For more context, read What Is a Streaming Bundle, and Which Ones Exist?.