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How to download Facebook Reels to your phone or computer

Facebook only offers a Download option for Reels and videos you posted yourself. On anyone else’s Reel, saving it keeps a bookmark inside Facebook, not a file. To get the file of a public Reel, copy its link with Share → Copy link and paste it into a downloader such as VidiDown. Here is how both work, and where the Reel ends up on Android, iPhone and a computer.

By The VidiDown team · Updated

Option 1: What Facebook itself offers

Saving a Reel on Facebook adds it to your Saved list in the app. That is a bookmark: no file is stored on your device, you cannot watch it offline, and it disappears if the owner deletes the Reel or changes who can see it.

Facebook’s Download video option is only offered to the person who uploaded the video. For a Reel you posted yourself, open it, tap the ••• menu and choose Download video; the exact menu depends on your app version. To download many of your videos at once, use Download your information in Accounts Center and select videos.

For anyone else’s Reel, ask the person who posted it. They may send you the original file, which is often better quality than the copy Facebook streams, or agree that you save it with the link method below.

Option 2: Copy the Reel’s link into VidiDown

Use the link method for public Reels you are allowed to keep: your own, or someone else’s once they have said yes. It works the same in Chrome on Android, Safari on iPhone and any browser on a computer, with no app to install and no Facebook login.

  1. In the Facebook app, tap Share on the Reel, then Copy link. On a computer, open the Reel and copy the address from the browser bar.
  2. Open the Facebook video downloader and paste the link. Reels use the same page as every other Facebook video.
  3. Keep Best available as the quality and tap Get video. The preview shows the Reel’s real resolution, length and size.
  4. Tap the Download button (it shows the file format, such as MP4) within 30 minutes. After that the prepared file is deleted from our server.

Accepted Reel links include facebook.com/reel/…, facebook.com/share/r/… and fb.watch/… short links. VidiDown saves the Reel file Facebook serves for playback, at the best quality it offers, copies the video and audio without re-encoding, and adds no branding of its own.

The Reel must be public. Friends-only posts, Reels in private groups and Stories cannot be reached without a login, and VidiDown never asks for your Facebook password. Ended public Lives work the same way, but Facebook now removes Lives after 30 days; see how to download a Facebook Live video.

Where the Reel goes on Android

  1. In Chrome, open the menu and tap Downloads, or open your phone’s Files app and look in the Download folder.
  2. Most gallery apps, including Google Photos, list new videos from the Download folder on their own. If yours does not, open the file from Files and use Share or Move.

Where the Reel goes on iPhone

  1. In Safari, the file goes to your downloads. Tap the download icon in the address bar, or open the Files app and go to Downloads.
  2. Open the video, tap Share and choose Save Video to add it to Photos.
  3. If Save Video is missing, the download may not have finished, or the file type may not be one Photos accepts. The result card shows the real format before you save.

On a computer

The Reel lands in your browser’s Downloads folder. Facebook videos usually arrive as MP4. Some are delivered in formats that VidiDown packages as MKV to avoid re-encoding; VLC and most modern players open both.

Saving just the audio

For a song, a speech or a recipe’s narration, the sound may be all you need. Choose MP3 audio under Save as and tap Get MP3, or open Facebook to MP3, where MP3 audio is already selected.

The MP3 is a high-quality variable-bitrate encode, typically about 190 kbps for music, and much smaller than the video, which helps on a phone with limited storage or mobile data. If a Reel has no audio track, VidiDown says so instead of creating a silent file.

If a Reel will not download

Most failures come from privacy: a Reel that plays for you while signed in may not be public. Check the post’s audience icon, and make sure you copied the link of one Reel, not a Page, a profile’s Reels tab or a group. Facebook can also refuse a link for a while even when the Reel plays in a browser, so a public Reel that fails may work later.

The troubleshooting guide explains each message, and how to download Facebook videos covers Watch, Page and other Facebook video links.

Questions

Why is there no Download option on someone else’s Reel?

Facebook only offers Download to the person who uploaded the video. If you would like a copy, ask them: they can send you the file or agree that you save it, and then the link method works for a public Reel.

Can I download Reels from a private account or group?

No. Friends-only posts and private groups need a Facebook login to view, and VidiDown does not use logins. Ask the person who posted the Reel for the file.

Will the Reel keep its quality?

VidiDown keeps the best quality Facebook offers for that Reel and never upscales it. The preview shows the real resolution before you save. It cannot restore detail Facebook removed when it compressed the upload.

Can I download all the Reels from a Page or profile?

No. VidiDown downloads one Reel per link. For your own videos, Download your information in Accounts Center can export them in one go.

Is downloading FB Reels with VidiDown free?

Yes. There is no account, app or extension, and the prepared file is deleted from our server after 30 minutes.

Sources: Meta: Updating our Facebook Live video storage policy (February 2025) · Apple Support: download files in Safari on iPhone.

Open the Facebook video downloader →