How to Download and Save Facebook Videos Without Any Software on Your Computer, Phone, or Tablet

Co-authored by Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: July 9, 2021

This wikiHow teaches you how to download Facebook videos without using any software like external websites. This is a pretty easy process and you'll be able to download videos from Facebook simply by changing the URL using your computer, phone, or tablet. Since mobile basic videos are usually reduced to 480p-720p, when you change the URL from the desktop or mobile site to the mobile basic site, you're also lowering the quality of the video you're about to download onto your computer.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:
Using a Computer

1
Go to https://www.facebook.com in a web browser. If you're not already signed into your account, sign in now.
2
Navigate to the video you want to watch. From your News Feed, a group, or a Page, click the video to view it and it should redirect you to the video page.
- You should see the URL in the address bar at the top of your web browser change to reflect the video's link. For example, your URL should show "videos" as well as a string of digits to indicate the specific video.
3
Change "www" to "mbasic." By changing the prefix of the URL, you're changing to the mobile basic view of the website.
- You'll see the page change to look more like a video you'd see on the mobile basic website.
- The URL in your address bar should look similar to "mbasic.facebook.com/story."
4
Right-click the video. A menu will appear next to your cursor.
5
Click Open link in new tab. The video will open in a new tab by itself.
6
Right-click the video. A menu will appear next to your cursor again.
7
Click Save video as….. Your file manager (File Explorer for Windows and Finder for Mac) will open.
8
Save it. Rename it if you want or change the save location, then click Save.^{[1]
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- If you are concerned about the quality of the download, you'll need to use a third-party software, like SaveTheVideo.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:
Using a Phone or Tablet

1
Go to https://www.facebook.com in a web browser. If you're not already signed into your account, sign in now.
- In order to do this, do not use the Facebook app.
2
Navigate to the video you want to watch. From your News Feed, a group, or a Page, tap the video to view it and it should redirect you to the video page.
- You should see the URL in the address bar at the top of your web browser change to reflect the video's link. For example, your URL should show "story as well as a string of digits to indicate the specific video.
3
Change "m" to "mbasic." By changing the beginning of the URL, you're changing to the mobile basic view of the website.
- In some browsers, like Chrome, tap the icon to copy the link after tapping the address bar, then paste the copied link in the empty address bar and add "basic" after the "m" in the URL.
- The URL should look similar to "mbasic.facebook.com/story."
4
Tap the video. It will start playing in a new tab.
5
Long-tap the video. A menu will appear next to your finger.
6
Tap Download video. You'll see a tab at the bottom of your screen indicating your download's progress and you can tap it to view your downloaded video.^{[2]
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