How to save an Instagram Live video, yours or someone else's

Your own Live, right after it ends

When you end a Live, Instagram shows a final screen with options for the broadcast. Use its download or save option to keep a copy in your camera roll straight away; on iPhone it goes to Photos, on Android to your gallery.

If you skip that screen, the Live is not lost yet: it goes to your Live archive, as long as archiving is switched on.

Your own Live, from the Live archive (30 days)

1. Open your profile and tap the menu (three lines), then Archive.
2. Switch to the Live archive and open the broadcast.
3. Use its ••• menu to download it or save it to your camera roll.

Lives stay in the archive for 30 days, then disappear. To make sure future Lives are kept, look for Save live to archive under Settings and privacy → Archiving and downloading. Menu names change between app versions, so search Settings for “archive” if you cannot find it.

Keep it on your profile instead

From the end screen or the archive you can also share the Live to your profile as a video or Reel. That keeps it public beyond the 30 days, and it then works like any other Instagram video, including with the link method below.

Someone else's Live

You cannot save another person's Live while it is on air, and a Live that only sits in the host's private archive cannot be reached by anyone else. If the host shares the replay to their profile as a public video or Reel, copy its link and use the Instagram video downloader:

1. Tap Share on the replay, then Copy link.
2. Paste it into VidiDown and tap Get video.
3. Check the preview's length and size, then tap the Download button (it shows the file format, such as MP4) within 30 minutes.

Replays up to 120 minutes and 2 GiB are accepted. If the host has not published the replay, ask them for a copy.

Where the video 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.

Where the video 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.

Keeping just the sound

For a talk, interview or lesson, the audio may be all you need. Choose MP3 audio under Save as, or use Instagram to MP3, on a published replay link. See how to save a Reel's audio as MP3.

Questions

How long does Instagram keep a Live?

Your own Lives stay in your Live archive for 30 days if archiving is on. Share the Live to your profile or download it before then.

Can I download someone else's Instagram Live?

Only if they publish the replay as a public video or Reel. A Live that is still on air, or kept only in their private archive, cannot be downloaded.

Does VidiDown record Lives while they are happening?

No. VidiDown only saves published, public videos after a broadcast has ended.

Will the host know I saved their replay?

VidiDown does not contact anyone or post anything. It only fetches the public video you link to.