How to Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll

If someone shared a streaming video with you on Facebook Messenger, you can tap it to play it in the conversation. But what if you want to watch the video offline? If it's a video shared from Facebook , YouTube, or another streaming site, you may be able to download it—but be careful—downloading streaming videos may violate your region's copyright laws, as well as the site's terms of service. If the video was sent as a file from the sender's computer, phone, or tablet, it'll be easier to download. This wikiHow teaches you how to download a video from Facebook Messenger onto your iPhone, iPad, or Android.

Method 1
Method 1 of 5:

Downloading an Attached Video (All Mobile)

  1. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 1
    1
    Open the Messenger app. It's the blue-and-white speech bubble with a lightning bolt on your home screen or in your app list.
    • As long as the person who sent the video attached it from their computer, phone, or tablet (rather than pasting a link to an online video or sharing it from a website), you can use this method to download the video.
    • If Messenger doesn't open to the Chats screen, tap Chats to go there now.
  2. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 2
    2
    Tap the conversation containing the video. If you don't see the video right away, scroll to it so it's visible.
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  3. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 3
    3
    Tap and hold the video. Don't play the video—just tap and hold it until some options appear.
  4. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 4
    4
    Tap Save or Save Video. If you don't see one of these two options at the bottom, tap More to expand more options.
    • If you've already allowed Messenger to access your camera roll, the video will download immediately. If not, you'll be prompted to give permission now.
    • Once the video is saved, you can watch it any time, on or offline, by opening your Photos or Gallery app and tapping the video.
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Method 2
Method 2 of 5:

Downloading a Facebook Video (iPhone/iPad)

  1. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 5
    1
    Download the Documents app. You'll use this free app to download and save your video from Facebook. Open your iPhone's App Store, then do the following:
    • Tap Search
    • Tap the search bar.
    • Type in documents
    • Tap Search
    • Tap GET to the right of the "Documents by Readdle" heading.
  2. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 6
    2
    Open Documents. Tap OPEN in the App Store, or tap the Documents app icon which is a multicolored "D" on a white background.
  3. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 7
    3
    Swipe through the welcome screens until you reach "My Files." Swipe from right to left across the screen, and tap Not now on any setup prompts. You can stop when you get to the My Files screen.
  4. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 8
    4
    Open the Documents web browser. This is a special web browser inside the Documents app. To open it, tap the compass icon at the bottom of the screen.
    • Now that you're in the right place, you can return to the home screen, as you'll need to use Messenger in the next step.
  5. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 9
    5
    Open the Messenger app. It's the blue-and-white speech bubble with a lightning bolt on your home screen or in your app list.
    • If Messenger doesn't open to the Chats screen, tap Chats to go there now.
    • While you can download most public Facebook videos, you cannot download videos which are private or shared with "Friends of Friends" permissions. In addition, you won't be able to download public videos that have some form of viewing protection (e.g., a graphic content warning).
  6. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 10
    6
    Tap the conversation that contains the video. If you don't see the video you want to save, scroll to it now.
  7. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 11
    7
    Tap the video's name. It's right below the video preview. This opens it in the regular Facebook app.
  8. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 12
    8
    Tap the three-dot menu and select Save to watch later. The dots are at the top-right corner.
    • If prompted, choose the For Later folder from the "Save To" list.
  9. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 13
    9
    Go to your Saved videos on Facebook. To do this, tap the three-line menu at the bottom-right and select Saved. You will see your newly-saved video at the top of the "Most Recent" list. Don't open it!
  10. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 14
    10
    Tap the three dots next to the video and select Copy link. This copies the video's link to your clipboard.
  11. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 15
    11
    Return to the Documents app and navigate to https://getfvid.com. To do this, just tap the "Search any website" field in the Documents browser, type getfvid.com, and then tap the Go key.
  12. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 16
    12
    Paste the URL into the field and tap Download. Tap and hold the "Enter Facebook Video URL" field and select Paste when it appears. Once you tap Download, you'll see some download options.
  13. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 17
    13
    Choose a video quality and tap Done. Scroll down to the set of three green buttons, and choose whether to download the video in HD Quality or Normal Quality—HD quality will be a larger download, but it'll usually be more crisp. Once you tap Done, the video will start downloading to the Documents app.
  14. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 18
    14
    Tap the rectangle at the bottom-left corner. This takes you to the My Files screen.
  15. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 19
    15
    Tap the Downloads folder. You will find the video in this folder.
  16. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 20
    16
    Move the video to your camera roll. Now that the video is saved, here's how to get it into the camera roll so you can easily watch it in the Photos app:
    • Tap the three dots at the bottom of the video and select Move.
    • Tap Photos.
    • Tap Allow Access to All Photos if prompted.
    • Tap Move. Once the video is moved, you can watch the video in your iPad's Photos app by tapping it in the Recents folder.
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Method 3
Method 3 of 5:

Downloading a Facebook Video (Android)

  1. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 21
    1
    Download the ES File Explorer app. Skip this step if you already have ES File Explorer on your Android. To download it, open the Play Store and then do the following:
    • Tap the search bar.
    • Type in es file explorer
    • Tap the ES File Explorer result below the search bar.
    • Tap INSTALL and follow the on-screen instructions.
  2. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 22
    2
    Open the Messenger app. It's the blue-and-white speech bubble with a lightning bolt on your home screen or in your app list.
    • If Messenger doesn't open to the Chats screen, tap Chats to go there now.
    • While you can download most public Facebook videos, you cannot download videos which are private or shared with "Friends of Friends" permissions.
    • In addition to this, you won't be able to download public videos which have some form of viewing protection (e.g., a graphic content warning).
  3. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 23
    3
    Select the conversation that contains the video.
  4. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 24
    4
    Tap the video's name. This opens it in the regular Facebook app.
  5. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 25
    5
    Tap the three-dot menu and select Save to watch later. The dots are at the top-right corner.
    • If prompted, choose the For Later folder from the "Save To" list.
  6. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 26
    6
    Go to your Saved videos on Facebook. To do this, tap the three-line menu at the top-right corner and select Saved. You will see your newly-saved video at the top of the "Most Recent" list. Don't open it!
  7. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 27
    7
    Tap the three dots next to the video and select Copy link. This copies the video's link to your clipboard.
  8. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 28
    8
    Open Google Chrome
    Android 7 Chrome
    .     Tap the Chrome app icon, which is a red, yellow, green, and blue sphere. If you prefer a different browser, you can use that instead.
  9. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 29
    9
    Go to https://getfvid.com. To do this, just tap the address bar at the top of the screen, enter the URL, and then tap the Enter key.
  10. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 30
    10
    Paste the URL into the field and tap Download. Tap and hold the "Enter Facebook Video URL" field and select Paste when it appears. Once you tap Download, you'll see some download options.
  11. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 31
    11
    Choose a video quality and tap Done. Scroll down to the set of three green buttons, and choose whether to download the video in HD Quality or Normal Quality—HD quality will be a larger download, but it'll usually be more crisp. Once you tap Done, the video will start downloading to your Android.
  12. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 32
    12
    Open ES File Explorer. Exit Chrome, then tap the ES File Manager app icon in the App Drawer.
    • If this is your first time using ES File Explorer, you may have to swipe or tap through a series of introduction screens before you can proceed.
  13. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 33
    13
    Tap the Download folder. This displays all of your downloads, including your new Facebook video.
  14. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 34
    14
    Tap the three dots on the video and select Copy. The video should have a name like "videoplayback.mp4."
  15. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 35
    15
    Navigate to your Camera folder. It's typically located at Internal Storage > DCIM > Camera. This is where all of the photos and videos in your camera roll appear.
  16. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 36
    16
    Tap Paste. It's at the bottom of the screen. This pastes the video into your camera roll, where you can now watch it on or offline using your Android's gallery app.
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Method 4
Method 4 of 5:

Downloading a YouTube or Other Streaming Video (iPhone/iPad)

  1. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 37
    1
    Download the Documents app. You'll use this free app to download and save your video from Facebook. Open your iPhone's App Store, then do the following:
    • Tap Search
    • Tap the search bar.
    • Type in documents
    • Tap Search
    • Tap GET to the right of the "Documents by Readdle" heading.
  2. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 38
    2
    Open Documents. Tap OPEN in the App Store, or tap the Documents app icon which is a multicolored "D" on a white background.
  3. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 39
    3
    Swipe through the welcome screens until you reach "My Files." Swipe from right to left across the screen, and tap Not now on any setup prompts. You can stop when you get to the My Files screen.
  4. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 40
    4
    Open the Messenger app. It's the blue-and-white speech bubble with a lightning bolt on your home screen or in your app list.
    • If Messenger doesn't open to the Chats screen, tap Chats to go there now.
  5. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 41
    5
    Tap the conversation containing the video. If you don't see the video right away, scroll to it so it's visible.
  6. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 42
    6
    Tap and hold the video and select Copy. Don't play the video—just tap and hold it until some options appear, and then select Copy from the options.
    • You may need to tap More to see the Copy option.
  7. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 43
    7
    Open the Documents web browser. This is a special web browser inside the Documents app. To open it, return to the Documents app, which is open to My Files, and tap the compass icon at the bottom of the screen.
  8. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 44
    8
    Go to the VideoSolo online video downloader. This is a free video download site, although some of the higher-quality download options require a paid upgrade.
    • In the "Search any website" field, type videosolo.com and then tap Go.
    • If you see a menu with three horizontal lines at the top-left, tap it, select Video Downloader, and then tap Online Video Downloader. If not, tap Online Video Downloader in the upper-right area of the page.
  9. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 45
    9
    Tap and hold the "Paste the link here" field and select Paste. This pastes the video's URL into the website.
  10. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 46
    10
    Tap the Download button. This opens a variety of download options.
  11. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 47
    11
    Tap the Download link next to the video quality you want. The higher the number in the "Quality" column, the larger the file, and the better the quality.
    • If prompted, tap Done to start the download.
  12. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 48
    12
    Tap the rectangle at the bottom-left corner. This takes you to the My Files screen.
  13. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 49
    13
    Tap the Downloads folder. You will find the video in this folder.
  14. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 50
    14
    Move the video to your camera roll. Now that the video is saved, here's how to get it into the camera roll so you can easily watch it in the Photos app:
    • Tap the three dots at the bottom of the video and select Move.
    • Tap Photos.
    • Tap Allow Access to All Photos if prompted.
    • Tap Move. Once the video is moved, you can watch the video in your iPad's Photos app by tapping it in the Recents folder.
    15. Advertisement
Method 5
Method 5 of 5:

Downloading a YouTube or Other Streaming Video (Android)

  1. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 51
    1
    Download the ES File Explorer app. Skip this step if you already have ES File Explorer on your Android. To download it, open the Play Store and then do the following:
    • Tap the search bar.
    • Type in es file explorer
    • Tap the ES File Explorer result below the search bar.
    • Tap INSTALL and follow the on-screen instructions.
  2. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 52
    2
    Open the Messenger app. It's the blue-and-white speech bubble with a lightning bolt on your home screen or in your app list.
    • If Messenger doesn't open to the Chats screen, tap Chats to go there now.
  3. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 53
    3
    Tap the conversation containing the video. If you don't see the video right away, scroll to it so it's visible.
  4. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 54
    4
    Tap and hold the video and select Copy. Don't play the video—just tap and hold it until some options appear, and then tap Copy.
  5. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 55
    5
    Open the Google Chrome web browser. If you prefer a different browser, you can use that instead.
  6. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 56
    6
    Go to http://www.videosolo.com. This is a free video download site, although some of the higher-quality download options require a paid upgrade.
  7. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 57
    7
    Open the Online Video Downloader.
    • If you see a menu with three horizontal lines at the top-left, tap it, select Video Downloader, and then tap Online Video Downloader.
    • If not, tap Online Video Downloader in the upper-right area of the page.
  8. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 58
    8
    Tap and hold the "Paste the link here" field and select Paste. This pastes the video's URL into the website.
  9. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 59
    9
    Tap the Download button. This opens a variety of download options.
  10. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 60
    10
    Tap the Download link next to the video quality you want. The higher the number in the "Quality" column, the larger the file, and the better the quality.
    • If you're asked to pay for an upgrade, try a different file size.
    • If you don't see the video after doing this, tap Open to open it.
  11. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 61
    11
    Download the video. When the video opens, tap it once to bring up the controls, select the three dots at the bottom-right corner, and then tap Download. This saves the video to your Downloads folder, but you'll still need to get it into your gallery.
  12. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 62
    12
    Open ES File Explorer. Exit Chrome, then tap the ES File Manager app icon in the App Drawer.
    • If this is your first time using ES File Explorer, you may have to swipe or tap through a series of introduction screens before you can proceed.
  13. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 63
    13
    Tap the Download folder. This displays all of your downloads, including your new Facebook video.
  14. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 64
    14
    Tap the three dots on the video and select Copy. Now you'll be able to move it into the appropriate folder.
  15. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 65
    15
    Navigate to your Camera folder. It's typically located at Internal Storage > DCIM > Camera. This is where all of the photos and videos in your camera roll appear.
  16. Image titled Save Videos from Facebook Messenger to the Camera Roll Step 66
    16
    Tap Paste. It's at the bottom of the screen. This pastes the video into your camera roll, where you can now watch it on or offline using your Android's gallery app.
    17. Advertisement

Community Q&A

  • Question
    Where does it save the videos? I saved one and it does not appear in my photos app.
    Community Answer
    Community Answer
    It is possible you saved it to your cloud storage or dropbox.
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Warnings

  • Saved videos from Messenger tend to have lower quality than when they were first uploaded.
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽
  • Only download Facebook and YouTube videos for personal use, and make sure you understand any legal risks in your area before doing so.
    ⧼thumbs_response⧽


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About This Article

Nicole Levine, MFA
Written by:
Nicole Levine, MFA
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Nicole Levine, MFA. Nicole Levine is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. She has more than 20 years of experience creating technical documentation and leading support teams at major web hosting and software companies. Nicole also holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Portland State University and teaches composition, fiction-writing, and zine-making at various institutions. This article has been viewed 803,051 times.
How helpful is this?
Co-authors: 5
Updated: June 28, 2021
Views: 803,051
Categories: Facebook Messenger
Article SummaryX

1. Tap the conversation.
2. Tap and hold the video.
3. Tap Save or Save Video.

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