What does downloading an app mean

Each of those requests you send are uploads since they started on your device and ended up on YouTube's end. When the results are understood by YouTube and sent back to you as web pages, those pages are being downloaded to your device for you to see. For a more concrete example, think about an email.

You're uploading the pictures to an email server when you send someone photos over an email. If you save picture attachments from someone who sent you an email, you're downloading them to your device. Another way to see it: you upload the images so that the recipient can view them, and when they save them, they're downloading them. Uploads and downloads happen all the time in the background. You don't usually need to understand when something is uploading or downloading or what they really refer to, but knowing how they differ is important in some situations.

For example, if a website tells you to upload your resume using their online form, but you don't know if that means to save something to your computer or send them a file, it can get confusing and delay the overall process you're trying hard to finish. Or, maybe you're buying a home internet plan and you see one advertised as offering 50 Mbps download speeds and another with 20 Mbps upload speeds. Most people don't need a fast upload speed unless they're often sending large amounts of data over the internet.

However, not knowing the difference between upload and download might leave you paying for way more than you need, or paying a smaller amount for speeds too slow for what you need. Since the speed at which you can download things from the internet is determined by what you're paying your ISP for, some people opt to stream data versus download it.

They're similar, but not technically the same, and there are benefits of both. For example, there are movie streaming sites that let you watch movies online instead of download them, and web apps that can be used in a browser instead of saved to your device. Downloading is useful if you want the entire file for offline use, like if you plan to watch movies, edit documents, view photos, or listen to music without an internet connection.

The entire file is saved on your device since you downloaded it, but to use it, you have to wait for the whole download to finish. Streaming, on the other hand, is useful if you want to use the file before it's finished downloading. You can stream Netflix shows on your tablet without needing to download the whole episode first. However, the file isn't usable offline because it isn't stored for future use.

The terms download and upload are usually reserved for transfers that take place between a local device and something else on the internet. For example, you won't say that you've "uploaded data to your flash drive " when copying a file to it from your computer. There are network protocols that support data uploads and downloads. Actively scan device characteristics for identification.

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Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. By Tim Fisher. Tim Fisher. Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience.

He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the VP and General Manager of Lifewire. Tweet Share Email. In This Article. To download is to receive data from the Internet that is to be stored and opened. Downloading should not be confused with copying or saving , which handles files not on the Internet e. Also, a download is not an upload , which is sending a file from a computer to another.

Files on the Internet may contain viruses or malware. The best way to protect your computer is to ensure an antivirus and anti-malware program is installed and up-to-date; see: How do I update my antivirus program? You can download files from a web page on an Android smartphone or tablet, or an Apple iPhone or iPad. Select your type of phone or tablet below and follow the instructions.

Downloading a file on a Chromebook is similar to downloading on a computer, with slight differences. One of the most popular downloads is an app or program that can be installed on your computer. For Windows computers, these files are most often. Many programs may also be included in a compressed file. If the download file or link ends with.

Below is an example executable file to run on your Windows computer. This executable file displays the message, "Congratulations, you've successfully downloaded an executable program file from the Computer Hope Website. Today, most drivers are either included in a compressed file see next section below or are contained in a self-extracting executable file.

If you're having trouble figuring out how to install the drivers you have downloaded, look for a readme file with this information. For additional help, use the link below on how to install drivers on a computer. Compression techniques reduce file sizes or package several files together. Compressed files may end with a. After they've been downloaded, these files must be decompressed before they can run or be viewed. Below is an example compressed file called example. Once this file is downloaded, you'll need to decompress the file, which contains a readme.

Downloading an audio file e. For web pages that utilize streaming audio or embedded audio, different downloading techniques must be used that are explained on the page linked below. Downloading a movie file e. However, you can also right-click the link and choose Save link as , Save target as , or the Save linked content as option. If an embedded movie has an arrow pointing down next to the audio controls, use that link to download the movie. Other streaming movie services that do not have a download link may require additional software to capture the video.

The link below has further instructions. Below is an example link to an MP4 video file. To download it, right-click the file and select Save link as , Save target as , or Save linked content as. Any picture or image on the Internet can be saved to your computer downloaded. As an example, the following steps walk you through how to download the Computer Hope logo seen to the right.

Once an image is saved, you may open it with an image editor or another program that supports the image's file format. You can also choose to copy the image and then paste it into any document or graphics program. A PDF file can be downloaded like most programs. Upon selecting a download link to a PDF file, most browsers open the PDF contents in the browser window rather than downloading the file.

Below are the steps on how to download a PDF to your computer instead of only viewing it. A document , such as those found in Microsoft Word , can also be downloaded by clicking any link pointing to the file.

To see the process in action, click the following link to download example. If the browser is opening the document or the link isn't working, you can also right-click the image and choose Save link as , Save target as , or Save linked content as. A spreadsheet can be downloaded by clicking any link pointing to the spreadsheet file. To see the process in action, click the link below to download the example.

If the browser is opening the spreadsheet or the link isn't working, you can also right-click the link and choose Save link as , Save target as , or Save linked content as.

Many websites that grab information from a database do not save the data as a.