There are a number of ways to save or download videos on Facebook.
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You can save any video on Facebook to play it again later.
To download a video from Facebook to your phone, use a third-party app like Friendly Social Browser.
You can also download a video from Facebook to your computer by changing its URL and then saving it.
Facebook doesn’t make it easy to save videos to your phone or computer — the social media service would rather you simply return to Facebook to watch them again.
But just because Facebook would prefer that you don’t download video, that doesn’t mean you can’t do it.
Here’s how to download a video from Facebook, whether you’re using your computer, iPhone, or Android phone.
How to save a video on Facebook to watch later
Before we get to permanently downloading videos from Facebook, though, there may be times when you simply want to save a video within Facebook so you can more easily watch it later. Think of it like “bookmarking” a video.
1. Find a video that you want to save for later.
2. Click or tap the more icon – the three horizontal dots – in the top right corner of the video post.
3. Click or tap Save video.
Click or tap “Save video.”
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Later, when you want to return to the video, all of your saved videos will be stored in one place.
On a computer, click Watch – the icon that looks like a computer monitor with a play button in the middle – in the top menu. Then, select Saved Videos.
Click “Watch” and then “Saved Videos.”
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On a phone, tap the three horizontal lines (known as a “hamburger menu”) and then tap Saved.
You can also find your saved videos in the Facebook mobile app.
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How to download a Facebook video to your iPhone or Android device
You can’t download a video to your phone using the ordinary Facebook app, but there are a number of third-party apps that make it possible to save the video directly to your phone’s Camera Roll. One app that works particularly well for both Android and iPhone users is Friendly Social Browser.
1. Install Friendly Social Browser.
2. Tap Facebook – this will also make Facebook the default profile for the app moving forward.
Choose Facebook from the list of social media sites.
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3. Log into Facebook using your usual Facebook credentials.
4. Once you’re logged in, you can use Friendly Social Browser instead of the official Facebook app — for the most part, it will look and act the same as the app you are used to.
5. If you’re using an iPhone, tap the cloud-shaped download button in the bottom right corner of the video post. On an Android device, tap the download icon in the video itself.
Tap the button that allows you to download the video on your device.
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Note: For some videos, you may need to start playing the video to see the download button.
6. On Android, the video will start downloading immediately, but on iPhone, you’ll see a pop-up with more options. If you’re an iPhone user, tap the download icon next to the Video option.
On iPhone, you’ll need to tap this download icon.
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7. Choose either Save to Photos or Save to Files.
Note: On both iPhone and Android, you might need to give the app permission to access your photos gallery and storage media.
How to save and download a video from Facebook to your computer
Unlike your phone, we don’t recommend using any third-party programs or websites to try to download videos on your computer. Many of these are not trustworthy and can contain malware or attempt to lure you into paying for additional services.
Instead, there’s a trick you can use to download video directly from Facebook.
1. Find a video that you want to save.
2. Click the more icon – the three horizontal dots – in the top right corner of the video post
3.Select Copy link.
Click “Copy Link.”
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4. In a new browser window, paste the URL you just copied in the address bar, and hit the Enter key on your keyboard to expand the URL.
Quick tip: You can quickly paste text by pressing Ctrl + V on a PC and Command + V on a Mac.
5. When the page loads, replace the www with mbasic.
Replace “www” with “mbasic” in the URL.
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6. Press Enter so the new URL loads in the browser. You’ll see the video appear in a format that’s optimized for a mobile device.
7. Start playing the video, right-click on the video, and then choose Save Video As.
Right-click the video and select “Save Video As.”
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8. Give the video a name and click Save.
The video will now be saved to your computer.