iPhone and iPad
Use Safari.
- Paste the link and press Download.
- Tap the download button on the result.
- Tap the arrow in Safari’s address bar and open the file.
- Tap Share, then Save Video.
More: saving to the camera roll.
How to save an Instagram video, Reel or photo
It takes about ten seconds once you know where the link is. This page walks through the whole thing, then covers each phone and computer, and what to do when something goes wrong.
The basic method
The same four moves work for every kind of post.
- 1
Copy the link
In the Instagram app, tap the paper-plane icon under the post and choose Copy link. On instagram.com, copy the address from the top of the browser.
- 2
Paste it
Open our home page and paste into the box. On a phone, the Paste button saves you a long press.
- 3
Pick a quality
After a few seconds the file appears. When there is a choice, the first button is the sharpest version Instagram stored.
- 4
Save it
Tap the button. The file goes to your Downloads, or to Photos on an iPhone after one extra tap, explained below.
Only public posts work. If you have to log in and be approved to see a post, we can’t see it either.
Which link do I have?
Instagram links look different depending on what you copied. Knowing the pattern also tells you why a link might fail.
What it isThe link looks likeUse
A whole profile
instagram.com/nameWon’t work. Open one post and copy that.Not sure? Paste it into the home page anyway. It works out the type by itself.
On your phone or computer
The only real difference between devices is where the file ends up.
Android
Use Chrome.
- Paste the link and press Download.
- Tap the download button on the result.
- If Chrome asks to allow the download, tap Allow.
- Find it in Gallery, or in the Files app under Downloads.
More: the Android guide.
Windows, Mac and Linux
Any modern browser.
- Copy the post’s address from the browser bar.
- Paste it on our home page and press Download.
- Click the download button.
- The file lands in your Downloads folder.
More: PC and laptop guide.
When something doesn’t work
Almost every problem is one of these six.
It says the account is private
The post can only be seen by people the owner has approved, and we never log in to Instagram. So there is nothing for us to fetch. Check by opening the link in a private browser window. If you can’t see the post there, it is private. Ask the owner to share it with you another way.
The video plays in the browser instead of saving
Some browsers open a video file rather than saving it. On a phone, tap the three dots on the player and choose Download. On a computer, right-click the video and choose Save video as. On an iPhone, look for the download arrow in Safari’s address bar.
“Invalid link” or “not found”
Most often the link is to a profile (instagram.com/name) instead of a post, or the post was deleted. Open the post itself, copy its link from the Share menu and try again. Links that contain /p/, /reel/ or /stories/ are the right kind.
The Reel has no sound
The file keeps whatever audio Instagram has for that Reel. If the creator’s song was muted for licensing reasons, the video is silent on Instagram too. Play the original in the app to compare.
The download is slow or fails
A weak connection, a VPN or a busy moment on Instagram’s side are the usual causes. Switch from mobile data to Wi-Fi, turn the VPN off and try again after a minute. Long videos take longer to start.
The site says I’ve reached my daily allowance
Fetching a new link costs us money, so each visitor can fetch a limited number of new links per day. Links you already fetched recently open again without using the allowance. Come back the next day and it resets.
Still stuck?
Tell us which link you tried, your device and what the page said, and we’ll look into it. We read every message.