
JDownloader supports "waiting time" and CAPTCHA recognition on many file hosting sites, enabling batch downloads without user input. The program can be configured to unpack split RAR archives automatically after all parts have been downloaded. The user-specified download links are split into packages to enable individual pausing and continuing of downloads.
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In June 2013, JDownloader's ability to download copyrighted and protected RTMPE streams was considered illegal by a German court. In response a link to the non-adware version was made available but only in a forum post. The JDownloader installation contains adware according to several sources, including the developer's own forums.

Mid-2012 there were complaints that JDownloader's installer added adware without the user's consent. While support for the original JDownloader still exists on forums, the official site only lists JDownloader 2. In 2011, JDownloader was superseded by its successor, JDownloader 2. German online magazine designated it "newcomer of the year" in 2009, after it ranked among the top 50 most downloaded applications, with over half a million downloads in a year.

In December 2009 the program's website was in the top 1000 visited websites of Spain.

JDownloader supports the use of premium accounts. JDownloader is a download manager, written in Java, which allows automatic download of groups of files from one-click hosting sites.
