Downloading

In short: Retrieving data from a remote server onto your own device.

In more detail: Technically a data transfer where your own machine is the receiver. Download speed depends on the available bandwidth in the receiving direction, which for many internet connections is designed to be higher than upload speed.

In Depth

When downloading, your own machine establishes a connection to the server (usually via HTTP/HTTPS or specialised protocols like FTP) and receives the requested data as a stream of packets. The speed actually achieved depends not only on your own bandwidth, but also on the server’s, the load on the path in between, and any throttling by the provider.

Most residential internet connections are designed asymmetrically — considerably more bandwidth for download than for upload — because the typical usage pattern (streaming, loading web pages, software updates) is heavily download-weighted. This changes for use cases like cloud backups or video calls, which need a lot of upload bandwidth, where the connection’s symmetry then matters more.

See also: Uploading, Bandwidth