How to download Facebook videos: what you can save and why you can’t download other people’s

Since the end of September 2025, every new video on Facebook is posted as a reel, whatever its length. The download rules changed along with it. Everything here comes from the Facebook Help Center as of November 2026.

1 / 5Your own videos

1. 01
   Everything is a reel now

   In June 2025, Facebook renamed the Videos tab to Reels, and since the end of September every new video is posted as a reel — regardless of length or format.

2. 02
   How to download

   On your phone: your profile picture in the top left › Reels › the reel you want › Options (⋯) › Download reel. It’s saved to your gallery. You can’t download reels from a computer.

3. 03
   The sound may drop out

   If your reel uses someone else’s original audio or a remix of it, the downloaded file will be muted. Licensed music may be muted fully or partly, depending on length and music rights in your country.

4. 04
   Older videos

   Nothing changed for videos posted before September 2025: if you couldn’t download a video before, you can’t download it now.

5. 05
   Live videos

   A finished live video is posted automatically and saved to your video library. To download it, use a computer: profile picture › Reels › the video › ⋯ › Download Video.

2 / 5A copy of your whole account

1. 06
   Where it is

   Settings & privacy › Settings › Accounts Center (or Meta Account, for some people) › Your information and permissions › Export your information › Create export. Choose the information, date range, format and media quality.

2. 07
   Format

   HTML is a ZIP file that opens in your browser, with folders of photos and videos. JSON is machine-readable, for moving your data to another service. High-quality video makes the archive bigger.

3. 08
   4 days

   The finished archive stays in Available downloads for 4 days. Facebook asks for your password before the export starts.

4. 09
   Saved items, too

   Your saved items and collections are included in the archive.

3 / 5Other people’s videos

1. 10
   There’s no button

   The Facebook Help Center says it outright: you can’t download reels or older videos created by others.

2. 11
   Save is a bookmark, not a file

   Save reel or Save video doesn’t put the video on your phone — it goes to Saved, to watch later (facebook.com/saved). Only you can see your saved items unless you add them to a public or friends-only collection.

3. 12
   Share it

   You can share a video to your feed, in Messenger or to a group — if its audience allows it.

4. 13
   Embed it on your site

   You can embed a public reel on your own website: on a computer, open the reel › Options › Embed. If the creator changes the audience, it becomes unavailable on your site.

4 / 5Downloading doesn’t give you the rights

1. 14
   “But I downloaded it”

   According to Facebook, posting someone else’s content can infringe their copyright even if you bought or downloaded it, credited the creator, found it online or saw others posting it too. Facebook recommends getting written permission from the creator.

2. 15
   Repeat offenses, disabled account

   Under Facebook’s Terms, accounts that repeatedly infringe other people’s rights can be disabled or deleted.

3. 16
   Unoriginal content

   Since July 2025, Facebook cuts reach and monetization for accounts that repost other creators’ videos without permission or meaningful changes, and shows duplicates less.

4. 17
   What doesn’t count as a change

   Borders, logos or watermarks, a caption on its own, background music, a speed change, subtitles, stitched-together clips — none of it makes a video original in Facebook’s eyes.

5. 18
   Originals get seen more

   According to Meta, views and watch time for original reels roughly doubled in the second half of 2025 compared with the same period a year earlier.

5 / 5Downloader sites and apps

1. 19
   No one will ask for your password

   Meta never asks for your password by email or chat. Its emails only come from fb.com, facebook.com, facebookmail.com, meta.com and similar domains.

2. 20
   Fake apps

   In 2022, Meta found more than 400 apps on the App Store and Google Play that stole Facebook logins while posing as photo editors, VPNs and other utilities — a video converter among them. Red flag: the app won’t work until you log in with Facebook.

3. 21
   Extensions

   Meta advises removing suspicious apps and browser add-ons. In 2021 it sued developers of browser extensions that secretly scraped data from Facebook.

4. 22
   The rules forbid it

   Facebook’s Terms prohibit collecting data by automated means without permission and asking for other people’s logins.

5. 23
   If you already logged in

   Settings › Apps and websites shows which sites and apps have access. Remove anything suspicious, then change your password and turn on two-factor authentication.

✓The bottom line

On Facebook you can only download your own videos: a reel from your phone via Options › Download reel, a live video from a computer, your whole account via Export your information. There’s no button for other people’s videos — save them to Saved, share them or embed them. Don’t give your login to downloader sites, and re-uploading someone else’s video will cost you reach and monetization.

Wondering what your page is missing? Take the 30-second test →