Download a public Facebook video to your phone or computer

1. 1
   Check the video is public

   Look at the audience icon next to the date of the post. A globe means anyone can watch it and it can be downloaded. Two silhouettes, a lock or a private group badge means it is served only to people who are signed in.

2. 2
   Copy the link

   Tap the video so it opens on its own, then Share and Copy link. fb.watch, facebook.com/share/v/, /watch?v=, /videos/ and /reel/ addresses are all read. On a computer the address bar shows the same thing.

3. 3
   Open isaveall in Safari or Chrome

   The browsers built into Facebook and Messenger cannot save files. Open your usual browser from the home screen and go to the Facebook video downloader page there.

4. 4
   Tap Download MP4

   One file comes back: the HD rendition when Facebook generated one, SD when it did not. The MP3 row under it holds the audio alone, and the file is named facebook_ plus the video id.

Almost every failed download on an iPhone starts the same way: you tapped an isaveall link inside Facebook or Messenger and landed in the app's browser, which has no way to save a file. Its menu has Open in Safari; use that, or copy the address and open Safari yourself.

From Safari the rest is short. Confirm the download and the MP4 goes to Files, in Downloads, as facebook_ plus the video id. Open it there, tap Share, choose Save Video, and it sits in Photos ready for iMessage, WhatsApp or iMovie.

For a reel the Share arrow is on the right edge of the screen instead of under the post, and it gives a /reel/ address this page reads the same way.

Facebook Lite copies links exactly like the full app: open the video, Share, Copy link. Its browser is even more limited, so open Chrome, Samsung Internet, Firefox or Brave from your home screen and paste the address there.

Chrome writes the MP4 to the Download folder, with a notification while it transfers, and Google Photos or your gallery lists it soon after. On Samsung phones the file is also at My Files, Internal storage, Download, and tapping it once there wakes the media scanner when the gallery is slow.

Watch the size on mobile data: an HD replay close to the 30 minute limit is far heavier than a reel, so Wi-Fi is the sensible choice for anything long.

Scrolling the feed leaves the address bar on facebook.com, which points at nothing useful. Click the video, or the date under the post, so it opens in its own view: the address then reads /watch/?v=, /videos/ or /reel/ followed by the id, and that is what to paste.

Addresses ending in /posts/ describe the post around the video and sometimes come back empty. Share and Copy link under the video gives a clean one, and fb.watch links sent from a phone work as they arrive.

The download link goes to Facebook's servers, so a browser may play the video in a tab. Right click Download MP4 and choose Save link as. The file lands in Downloads as facebook_ plus the video id, H.264 with AAC audio.

The audience icon is the whole test. A globe means anyone can watch, including our server, which visits Facebook logged out. Two silhouettes, a lock or a private group badge means the video is served only to a session, and being a member or a friend does not change that.

A live can be downloaded once it ends and the page publishes the replay as a normal video; a link copied during the broadcast comes back with nothing. Stories are not covered at all, because Facebook serves them to a session and they expire within a day.

To keep your own videos, including the ones only you can see, use Download your information in Facebook's settings. It exports the originals of what you posted.

Facebook keeps an SD rendition of roughly 360p to 480p for every video, and an HD one at 720p or 1080p when the upload allowed it. You get the HD file whenever it exists; an SD download means Facebook never made anything better, which is common with old uploads.

The result shows no resolution beforehand, because Facebook's file carries no quality label; your player's info panel tells you afterwards. Videos are capped at 30 minutes, so a full length replay of a long broadcast stays out of reach.

• Check the audience icon before you copy anything: the globe is the only one that downloads.
• Copy the link with Share under the video, not with the three dot menu, which offers the post's text.
• fb.watch links from WhatsApp or Messenger work exactly as they arrive, with no cleaning up.
• The MP3 row is the practical option for a talk, a sermon or a song posted by a page.
• Long replays are heavy: download them over Wi-Fi and check the free space on your phone.