diff --git a/buzz/transcriber/file_transcriber.py b/buzz/transcriber/file_transcriber.py
index 494d8a4e8..80faf8ddb 100755
--- a/buzz/transcriber/file_transcriber.py
+++ b/buzz/transcriber/file_transcriber.py
@@ -35,14 +35,19 @@ def run(self):
             temp_output_path = tempfile.mktemp()
             wav_file = temp_output_path + ".wav"
 
-            ydl = YoutubeDL(
-                {
-                    "format": "bestaudio/best",
-                    "progress_hooks": [self.on_download_progress],
-                    "outtmpl": temp_output_path,
-                    "logger": logging.getLogger()
-                }
-            )
+            cookiefile = os.getenv("BUZZ_DOWNLOAD_COOKIEFILE")
+
+            options = {
+                "format": "bestaudio/best",
+                "progress_hooks": [self.on_download_progress],
+                "outtmpl": temp_output_path,
+                "logger": logging.getLogger(),
+            }
+
+            if cookiefile:
+                options["cookiefile"] = cookiefile
+
+            ydl = YoutubeDL(options)
 
             try:
                 logging.debug(f"Downloading audio file from URL: {self.transcription_task.url}")
diff --git a/docs/docs/preferences.md b/docs/docs/preferences.md
index 2adc80bac..fd5a86efe 100644
--- a/docs/docs/preferences.md
+++ b/docs/docs/preferences.md
@@ -92,3 +92,5 @@ Defaults to [user_cache_dir](https://pypi.org/project/platformdirs/).
 **BUZZ_FAVORITE_LANGUAGES** - Coma separated list of supported language codes to show on top of language list.
 
 **BUZZ_LOCALE** - Buzz UI locale to use. Defaults to one of supported system locales.
+
+**BUZZ_DOWNLOAD_COOKIEFILE** - Location of a [cookiefile](https://github.com/yt-dlp/yt-dlp/wiki/FAQ#how-do-i-pass-cookies-to-yt-dlp) to use for downloading private videos or as workaround for anti-bot protection.