How to save Instagram videos
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There are a ton of good reasons you'd want to download Instagram videos. If it's your own, it may be easier to download that route through your phone to find the video. Maybe you added something to a story you wish you had recorded instead. Whatever the case, when you need to download video from Instagram, it's not easy if you try to do it directly.
There's also no good way to save Instagram videos. Here, we'll walk you through how to download Instagram videos on iOS devices, how to save Instagram videos to Mac, and which apps are best for downloading and viewing downloaded Instagram videos anywhere.
But first, a word of caution.
Is it alright to download Instagram videos?
Instagram wants to keep you tethered to the app. Its business involves serving you ads, which is only possible when you're using the app. This is the main reason why it won’t allow downloads.
But there are so many good reasons to allow downloads from Instagram! Imagine trying to surprise your loved one with a video montage for their birthday. Downloading all your videos together is a great way to surprise them. It also makes editing the videos really easy. You can trim, splice, and append videos to one another however you see fit.
Note: You shouldn’t download videos from the profiles of other people unless you’ve received an explicit consent from them.
Save any video from Instagram to Mac
When you want to download from Instagram, there's just no direct method. Like Facebook, you can save videos to view later, but that's only good when you're in the app. Moreover, it only works when you have an internet connection.
Luckily, we know how to download videos from Instagram!
Meet Pulltube app. It's secure, trusted, well-reviewed, and really easy to use. It can download any video from the web, which makes it really handy as an Instagram video downloader, too!
Here's how to use Pulltube to download Instagram videos and live stories:
- Open Pulltube via Setapp
- Copy the link to your Instagram video and paste it in Pulltube, or just drag and drop the URL onto the app
- Trim the video or change the quality if you like
- Click Download video.
That's all you have to do! Your Instagram video will download to your Mac. You can view it any time you like, and save it wherever is best for you.
Tip: Uploading videos to Instagram from Mac is not much easier than downloading them. In fact, there’s no native solution that could do that. If you’re looking for a good Instagram app
for Mac, try Grids. It’s an easy tool to post content directly to Instagram from your Mac.
Download videos from Instagram and transfer to iOS device
Now that you've downloaded your Instagram videos to your Mac, they're viewable any time you like. And that's great – but what if you also want to watch them on an iPhone or iPad?
Perhaps you're traveling, and want to watch family videos on your trip when you know a signal will be unreliable. Maybe you're downloading them to make a montage video, and want to use an iPhone or iPad app to edit all the short videos together. Also, check out instagram video dimensions.
Whatever the case, downloading on Mac doesn't bring your videos to other devices. For that, we suggest AnyTrans for iOS. It's a content manager for iPhone and iPad. Here’s how to easily download files on your Mac and transfer them to an iPhone:
- Connect your iPhone to Mac
- Open Content Transfer tab (music icon in the sidebar)
- Click Video and choose the video you want to transfer to your phone
- Choose “To Device.”
Much like iOS devices, there's just no way to download an Instagram video directly to an Android handset. Instagram simply doesn't allow it.
To get those videos onto an Android device, we prefer AnyDroid. The files can be easily transferred to your Android handset via the AnyDroid app, and viewed any time you like. Because they're downloads, you don't have to worry about WiFi or a cellular signal at all.
Nothing about the download process changes when you use Android. Follow the instructions we provided for transferring files with AnyTrans for iOS.
Download Instagram video using source code
Here’s the method of downloading Instagram videos, which will make you feel like a hacker. You can open an Instagram video in your browser on Mac and save it from the source code:
- Open the video, right-click it, and choose Inspect element or View page source
- Press Control + F and type “mp4” in the search bar
- You’ll be redirected to the piece of code that contains a link
- Copy the link next to “=src”
- Paste the link in the new tab, right-click it, and choose Save video as…
Save Instagram video using online solutions
We always try to be very cautious about recommending this option, but some people will still use it, so let’s make it as safe as possible. While many online video downloaders you’ll encounter online contain malware, it’s important to use only well-reviewed trusted tools.
You can try websites such as W3Toys.com. We found it very quick and efficient in downloading videos from Instagram. All you have to do is paste the link and click Download. The video will open in a new tab and you can save it from there.
The only downside is that the website is riddled with ads, some of which might contain malicious content, so be very careful not to click on them.
Tip: Use AdLock to block ads on the web. Not only does it make your browsing experience safer, it’s also likely to speed up website loading.
Download videos from Instagram using browser add-ons
Another helper tool is a browser extension for saving Instagram Stories and Reels. You’ll find many such extensions on the internet, but we again recommend using only the well-reviewed ones. We’ve found Soical Video Downloader and FasSave Chrome add-ons quite reliable — you can find both in the Chrome Web Store.
Tip: In case you notice that your Mac starts acting weird or slows down after installing an Instagram extension, make sure to get rid of it immediately. The fastest way to remove browser add-ons is to open CleanMyMac X > Extensions, select the extension and click Remove.
Find secure video download tools in Setapp
When it comes to downloading and managing videos, we love the workflow of Pulltube, AnyTrans for iOS, and AnyDroid for Android. Downloads are a snap, and moving those files to other devices is totally seamless.
These three apps plus Grids are available for free as part of a seven-day trial of Setapp, the best suite of apps for Mac and iPhone. Sign up and have immediate access to dozens of other excellent apps during your free trial. Once your free week ends, Setapp is only $9.99 per month!
