Ctrl K

How to download Facebook videos and reels, the ways Facebook allows

Updated on 1 October 2026

The short answer. Facebook lets you download only videos you posted yourself: open your profile, tap Reels, open the video, tap Options and then Download reel. Other people's videos and reels cannot be downloaded; tap Options → Save video to keep them in your Saved list instead. Everything you ever posted can be exported from Accounts Centre.

Since the end of September 2025 every video posted to Facebook is shared as a reel, whatever its length or shape, and the old Videos tab is now called Reels. That changes which button you look for, so the steps below use the new names.

What you want The official way Whose videos
A file of a video you posted Your profile → Reels → Download reel Yours only
Keep any video to watch again Options → Save video or Save reel Anyone's you can see
Every photo and video you ever posted Export your information in Accounts Centre Yours only
Your live broadcast as a file Reels on a computer → Download video Yours only

Can I download someone else's Facebook video?

No. Facebook's help page states plainly that you cannot download reels or videos created by others, and no setting adds a download button to them. What Facebook offers instead is Save, which keeps the video in a private list inside Facebook so you can find it again. To get a file of somebody else's video, ask them to send it.

How do I save a Facebook video to watch later?

Saving works on any reel or video you can see, and only you can see your saved items. The video stays on Facebook, so it plays only with an internet connection and disappears if the owner deletes it. The old Watch Later list has been folded into Saved.

  1. While watching the video or reel, tap or click Options (the three dots).
  2. Choose Save reel or Save video.
  3. To find it again on a phone: Menu → Reels → Saved. On a computer, go to facebook.com/saved.

How do I download my own Facebook video?

Any reel you posted after the September 2025 change can be downloaded straight to your phone, and every new upload counts as a reel. Videos you posted before then keep the download options they always had: if one could not be downloaded before, it still cannot. For everything at once, use Export your information below.

On Android or iPhone:

  1. From your Feed, tap your profile picture.
  2. Tap Reels, next to Photos.
  3. Open the reel you want and tap Options (the three dots).
  4. Tap Download reel. It saves to your gallery on Android or your camera roll on iPhone.

Sound. If your reel used someone else's original audio, or remixed a reel that did, the download is muted. A reel with licensed music may come down with the music muted or cut short, depending on its length and your country's music rights.

A live video, on a computer: after the broadcast ends it is posted to your profile automatically. Click your profile picture → Reels → open the video → the three dots → Download video.

How do I download all my Facebook videos at once?

Facebook's Export your information tool, in Accounts Centre, packs every photo and video you posted into a ZIP file, along with posts and messages if you want them. You choose the date range and the media quality. When the export is ready you have four days to download it, and every download is protected by your password.

On a computer:

  1. Click your profile picture (top right) → Settings and privacy → Settings.
  2. Click Accounts Centre → Your information and permissions → Export your information. Some accounts see Meta Account instead of Accounts Centre; the steps match.
  3. Click Create export, choose your Facebook profile, then Export to device.
  4. Choose what to include (just photos and videos keeps it small), a date range, HTML format, and the media quality. Higher quality makes a larger download.
  5. Click Start export. You get an email and a Facebook notification when it is ready; download it from Available downloads within four days.

On the app, the same tool is in Menu → Settings and privacy → Settings → Accounts Centre.

Unzipped, the HTML export has a file called index that opens in any browser, with your videos in folders beside it.

Is it allowed to use a Facebook video downloader?

Meta's Terms of Service say you may not "access or collect data from our Products using automated means (without our prior permission) or attempt to access data that you do not have permission to access". A downloader site that fetches someone else's video does exactly that, and the person who made the video has not given you a copy.

Practical risks come with it too:

  • Your account. Apps or sites that ask you to log in with Facebook can read far more than one video, and Meta's terms forbid collecting other people's passwords.
  • Adware. Downloader sites are funded by aggressive ads: fake Download buttons, push-notification prompts and bundled apps.
  • Copyright. The video belongs to whoever made it. Re-uploading it without permission can get the post removed and the account restricted.

This summarises Meta's published terms and is not legal advice.

Already have your video? What to do next

Your downloaded reel or exported video is an ordinary MP4. Video to MP3 takes the sound out of it, Trim Video cuts the part you want, and MOV to MP4 converts an iPhone .mov before you post it. All three run in your browser and upload nothing. None of them can fetch a video from Facebook.

Questions people ask

Why is there no Download option on my old Facebook video?

Videos posted before the end of September 2025 kept the download options they had before Facebook turned every video into a reel. Facebook's help page says that if a video could not be downloaded before, it cannot be now. Export your information still includes it, so a ZIP export is the way to get an old video back.

Can I download a Facebook video from a group or a page I follow?

Not as a file, unless it is your own. Facebook offers download only to the person who posted a reel or video. Saving it with Options → Save video keeps it in your Saved list, and asking the person who posted it for the file is the only other official route.

Why is my downloaded Facebook reel silent?

Facebook mutes a download when the reel used someone else's original audio or remixed a reel that did. Licensed music from Facebook's library may also be muted or cut short, depending on the clip's length and your country's music rights. The reel itself keeps its sound on Facebook; only the downloaded copy is affected.

Where do saved Facebook videos go?

Saved videos stay on Facebook, in a private list. On a phone, open Menu, then Reels, then Saved; on a computer, go to facebook.com/saved. Nothing is stored on your phone, so a saved video needs an internet connection and disappears from the list if its owner deletes it.

How long does a Facebook data export take?

Facebook does not publish a fixed time, and a large export with high-quality videos takes longer than a small one, so choosing only photos and videos and a short date range helps. An email and a notification arrive when it is ready. Download it within four days, or the export expires and must be requested again.

Sources

Facebook's own help pages and Meta's terms, checked 1 Oct 2026:

The tools for this