Ctrl K

How to download Instagram reels and posts, yours and other people's

Updated on 1 October 2026

The short answer. To download a public reel, tap the Share icon under it and choose Download; it saves to your phone with an Instagram watermark and the creator's username. Reels from private accounts, and reels whose creator turned downloads off, cannot be downloaded. Anything else can be saved inside Instagram, and your own posts can be exported from Accounts Center.

Instagram gives you three official ways to keep something, and they do different jobs:

What you want The official way Where it ends up
Someone's public reel as a video file Share → Download Your phone's gallery or camera roll, watermarked
Any post or reel, to find again later Save (the bookmark), optionally into a collection A private Saved section in Instagram
Every photo and video you have posted Export your information in Accounts Center Files on your device or another service

How do I download someone else's Instagram reel?

Instagram lets anyone download a reel from a public account unless the creator has turned reel downloads off. The video saves to your gallery or camera roll with an Instagram watermark, the creator's username and the audio credit. Reels from private accounts cannot be downloaded at all, and public accounts of under-18s have downloads off by default.

On Android or iPhone:

  1. Open the reel in the Instagram app.
  2. Tap the Share icon (the paper plane) under or beside the reel.
  3. Tap Download in the row of options. If it is not there, the creator has not allowed downloads or the account is private.
  4. The video appears in your gallery (Android) or camera roll (iPhone).

Sound. Instagram includes a reel's original audio when that audio is downloadable. A reel set to a licensed song often downloads silent or without the music, because Instagram cannot pass the music licence on to you.

Use. Instagram's help page says downloaded reels "aren't allowed to be used for commercial purposes". Reposting someone's reel as your own, or using it in an advert, needs their permission.

How do I save a post or reel without downloading it?

Saving keeps a post inside Instagram where only you can see it, and the owner is not told. It works on every post and reel you can view, including ones that cannot be downloaded, but the saved copy stays in the app and disappears if the owner deletes the post.

  1. Under a post, tap Save (the bookmark icon). For a reel, tap Options (the three dots) and then Save.
  2. To file it in a collection, tap and hold Save instead, then pick a collection or tap New collection.
  3. To see everything you saved: your profile → Menu (the three lines, top right) → Saved.

On a computer, click your profile picture, then Saved.

How do I download my own Instagram posts and reels?

Instagram's Export your information tool sends you a copy of everything you posted, including your photos and videos. It is the official way to get your own content back as files. Instagram can take up to 30 days to email the link, and once ready the files must be downloaded within 4 days.

  1. In the app: your profile → Menu (three lines) → Accounts Center. On a computer: More (bottom left) → Settings → Accounts Center (Instagram is moving some accounts to a page called Meta Account; the steps are the same).
  2. Tap Your information and permissions → Export your information → Create export.
  3. Choose your Instagram profile, then Export to device.
  4. Choose what to include, the date range, the format (HTML is easiest to browse), and the media quality. High quality makes the files much larger.
  5. Tap Start export. When it is ready, download it from Available downloads in the same place.

Two limits worth knowing: the export contains only what you shared, not other people's photos you are tagged in; and the original media files are offered when you export to an external service such as Google Drive rather than to your device.

For the future: Instagram can keep a copy of every photo you post in your phone's own photo library. Search the app's Settings for Save original and turn it on.

Is it allowed to use an Instagram downloader website?

Instagram's Terms of Use say you can't "access or collect information in unauthorized ways", including collecting it in an automated way without Instagram's permission, and you can't circumvent "any technological measures that control or limit access". A reel the creator has blocked from download, or a private account's reel, is exactly that kind of limit.

Downloader sites and apps sit outside those rules, and they bring their own risks:

  • Your login. A site or app that asks for your Instagram username and password can take over the account. Instagram's terms forbid collecting other people's login details for this reason.
  • Adware. Downloader sites are paid for by aggressive ads, with fake Download buttons and notification prompts.
  • The creator's rights. A reel belongs to the person who made it. Using it without permission can infringe their copyright, and reposting it can get your account restricted.

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

Already have the video? What to do next

A downloaded reel or an exported video is an ordinary MP4 on your phone. Video to MP3 takes the sound out of it in your browser, Trim Video cuts it, and MOV to MP4 converts an iPhone .mov you want to post. None of them uploads the file, and none of them can fetch anything from Instagram.

Questions people ask

Why is there no Download option on a reel?

Three reasons cover almost every case. The account is private, so no one can download its reels; the creator turned reel downloads off for their account or for that reel; or the creator is under 18, where downloads start switched off. Saving the reel with the bookmark icon still works in each case.

Can I download an Instagram reel without the watermark?

Not through Instagram. Every reel downloaded with Instagram's own button carries the Instagram watermark, the creator's username and the audio credit, and that is deliberate, because it tells viewers where the video came from. Your own reels come back as plain video files through Export your information.

Can I download Instagram stories or someone's photos?

Instagram has no button to download other people's stories or photo posts. Saving a post with the bookmark keeps it inside Instagram. For a story or photo you need outside the app, ask the person to send it to you; your own stories and posts come back through Export your information.

Does the person know if I save or download their reel?

Saving is private: Instagram's help page says the owner cannot tell that you saved their post. Instagram does not document a notification for downloads either. The downloaded video does carry their username wherever you send it.

Why did my downloaded reel have no sound?

Instagram includes only audio it is allowed to pass on. Original sound recorded by the creator comes with the download; a licensed song added from Instagram's music library usually does not, so the reel downloads silent or with the music missing. Listening inside the Instagram app is the only official way to hear it.

Sources

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

The tools for this