How to Download Facebook Private Videos Online

This guide shows how to save a Facebook video as an MP4 file: public videos, friends-only videos and videos in private groups, on a computer, Android and iPhone. You need no app, and you never give anyone your Facebook password.

Public videos and reels

Anyone can watch a public video, even without a Facebook account. For these videos, the link is enough.

On a phone

1. In the Facebook app, open the video. Tap Share, then Copy link.
2. Open the Facebook video downloader in your browser. Tap Paste, or press and hold in the box and paste.
3. Tap Get video.
4. Tap Download HD or Download SD. You get the file Facebook sends. Vidsaver adds no watermark.

On a computer

Open the video and copy the address from the browser bar. Paste it on the home page and click Get video.

Links like these work: facebook.com/…/videos/…, facebook.com/reel/…, facebook.com/watch/?v=… and facebook.com/share/v/….

Not sure if a video is public? Try the link first. If Vidsaver says the video is not public, use one of the private ways below.

Private videos on a computer

A friends-only video, or a video in a private group, opens only for accounts that may watch it. Vidsaver cannot open it from the link. Your browser can, because you are logged in. So you copy the page your browser sees, and Vidsaver finds the video file in it. Vidsaver uses the copied page once, then throws it away.

Use Chrome, Edge or Firefox. There are two ways.

Way 1: the bookmark button (fastest)

Do this once:

1. Show the bookmarks bar. In Chrome, press Ctrl+Shift+B (on Mac ⌘+Shift+B).
2. Open the private video page. Drag the Copy for Vidsaver button to the bookmarks bar.

Then, for each video:

1. Open the video on Facebook, logged in.
2. Click the Copy for Vidsaver bookmark. It copies the page and opens Vidsaver.
3. Click in the big box and paste (Ctrl+V, on Mac ⌘+V).
4. Click Get video, then a download button.

Way 2: copy the page source

1. Open the video on Facebook, logged in. Copy its address from the browser bar.
2. Open the private video page. Paste the link in step 1, then click Copy in step 2.
3. Open a new tab. Paste in the address bar and press Enter. You see a page full of code. That is normal.
   Shortcut: on the video page, press Ctrl+U (in Chrome on Mac: ⌘+Option+U).
4. Press Ctrl+A to select all, then Ctrl+C to copy.
5. Go back to Vidsaver. Paste in the box in step 3 and click Get video.

Private videos on Android

Use the Chrome app. Do these steps in Chrome, not inside the Facebook app.

1. Log in to Facebook in Chrome. Open facebook.com in Chrome and log in. Being logged in to the Facebook app is not enough, because Chrome has its own login.
2. Copy the video link. In the Facebook app, open the video. Tap Share, then Copy link. If you see no Share button, open the video in Chrome and copy the address from the address bar.
3. In Chrome, open the private video page. Paste the link in step 1. Tap Copy in step 2.
4. Open a new tab. Press and hold the address bar, tap Paste, then tap Go. Chrome shows the page code.
5. Press and hold any word. Tap Select all, then Copy.
6. Go back to the Vidsaver tab. Paste in the box in step 3 and tap Get video.
7. Tap Download HD or Download SD.

If Vidsaver finds no video: Facebook sends phones a different page, and in our test (without a login) Vidsaver found no video in it. Ask Chrome for the desktop site: tap ⋮, then Settings, Site settings, Desktop site, and choose Desktop site. Then do the steps from "Open a new tab" again. When you are done, you can set it back to Default view.

On iPhone

Public videos and reels work on iPhone. Use the steps for public videos. Safari saves the file in the Files app, in the Downloads folder.

Private videos are harder. The private way needs the page source, and Safari on iPhone cannot show it. You have three honest options:

• Use a computer. Follow the computer steps, then move the file to your iPhone.
• Ask the person who posted it. They can send you the file. This is also the fairest way.
• Is it your own video? Facebook can give it to you. See your own videos.

Never type your Facebook password into another app or website to save a video.

Videos in private groups

• You must be a member of the group, and logged in. If you left the group, or the post was deleted, it does not work.
• Open the one video you want. Vidsaver needs the page of that video, not the page of the whole group.
• Then follow the steps on a computer or on Android.
• If you paste a group link on the home page, Vidsaver tells you to use the private video page.

A video in a public group can work with the link alone. Try the link first.

Your own videos

For your own videos, use Facebook's own tools. You copy no code.

One reel or video, in the app

Facebook says that since the end of September 2025, every new video is posted as a reel. You can download reels you posted:

1. Tap your profile picture.
2. Tap Reels, next to Photos.
3. Tap the reel, then tap Options.
4. Tap Download reel. It goes to your gallery (on iPhone, your camera roll).

Facebook also says: if your reel uses someone else's original audio, the downloaded reel has no sound.

All your videos at once: Export your information

1. On a computer, click your profile picture in the top right. Click Settings & privacy, then Settings. (In the app: tap Menu, then Settings & privacy, then Settings.)
2. Click Meta Account, then Your information and permissions. Some accounts see Accounts Center instead.
3. Click Export your information, then Create export.
4. Select your profile, then Export to device.
5. Choose what to export, the date range, the format, the email for the notice and the media quality. Then click Start export.

Facebook asks for your password before the export starts. When the file is ready, you get an email and a Facebook notification. You then have 4 days to download it from Available downloads. With the HTML format you get a ZIP file. The videos are in its folders. High-quality videos make the file bigger.

Source: Facebook Help Center, Export a copy of your Facebook information and Download a reel you shared.

When it does not work

Find the message you see, then do what it says below.

This video is not public, or it was removed. If you can watch it while logged in, use the private video tool.

You pasted the link of a friends-only or group video on the home page. Use the private way: computer or Android.

This video is private or needs a login.

Facebook shows this video only to logged-in viewers. Use the private way.

We found no video at this link. Open the post, copy the link of the video itself, and try again.

The link goes to a profile, a page or a post with no video. Open the video, tap Share, then Copy link.

This video was removed or is not available.

The owner deleted the video, or changed who can see it. If you can still watch it while logged in, use the private way.

We found no video file at this link. Some videos are only a stream, and a stream cannot be saved.

This can happen with a live video that is still running. Wait until the live video ends, then try again.

We could not get this video right now. Try again in a minute.

A short problem at Facebook or at Vidsaver. Wait a minute and try again. If it keeps happening, the private way also works for public videos.

Too many requests from your network. Wait one minute, then try again.

Many requests came from your network in a short time. Wait one minute.

Paste a link from Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), Pinterest, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Streamable, Snapchat, Twitch clips, Weibo, Loom, Telegram.

What you pasted has no link from a site that works. Copy the video link again.

Paste the full page source of the Facebook video page (it starts with <!DOCTYPE html>).

In the private tool, you pasted the link or only a part of the page. Select all on the source page and copy again. On Android, also try the desktop site and copy again.

We found no video in this page. Copy the whole source of the video page, from a browser where you are logged in to Facebook.

The copied page has no video in it. Maybe you were logged out, or you copied the feed or the group page. Open the video itself, logged in, and copy all again. On Android, try the desktop site.

This page source is too big. Copy only the source of the video page.

You copied a very long page, like a feed. Open the one video, then copy its source.

Vidsaver could not copy this page. Use the view-source steps.

Your browser did not let the bookmark button copy. Use way 2.

The video plays instead of saving

Right-click the video and choose Save video as. On a phone, press and hold the video, then choose to download it.

The download button shows an error page

Download links stop working after a while. Go back, press Get video again, and save the file at once.

Is it allowed?

This is not legal advice, and the rules differ by country. Here is the fair way:

• Your own videos: yes. Facebook's terms say you own the content you create and share.
• Other people's videos: the person who made the video owns it. Ask before you save it. Ask again before you post it anywhere. Facebook's terms say you may not share content that you do not own or have the right to share.
• Friends-only and group videos: the owner chose a small audience. Do not make the video public without their OK.

Read Facebook's terms (sections 3.2 and 3.3) and our terms of use.