How to Download Facebook Reels to Your Phone
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A Facebook reel is downloaded to a phone in one of two ways. Facebook's own Download reel option saves a reel you posted yourself. A link-based tool saves a public reel that someone else posted.
This article covers both routes, the steps on iPhone and Android, and the place where the file lands on each phone.
What Facebook's Download Reel Option Covers
Facebook's Help Centre is exact about the limits of its own option. It applies to three kinds of video in three different ways.
| Video | What Facebook's Help Centre says |
|---|---|
| A reel you posted after September 2025 | You can download it |
| A video you posted before September 2025 | Download options have not changed; if you could not download it before, you cannot now |
| A reel or video created by someone else | You cannot download it |
The option exists in the Facebook app for iPhone and Android. The Help Centre states that it is not available on computers.
Download Your Own Reel in the Facebook App
Facebook's Help Centre gives four steps.
- From your Feed, tap your profile picture.
- Tap Reels, next to Photos.
- Tap the reel you want, then tap Options.
- Tap Download reel. The reel is saved to your gallery.
The saved copy can be silent. Facebook mutes the download when the reel uses someone else's original audio or is a remix of such a reel. With licensed music, the audio may be muted or only partly included, depending on the length and on your country's music rights.
Save Someone Else's Public Reel
For a reel you did not post, Facebook offers no file. A link-based tool fills that gap: it reads the public player of the reel and hands you the video file.
- Open the reel in the Facebook app, tap Share, then tap Copy link.
- Open the Facebook reels downloader in your phone's browser and paste the link.
- Choose HD or SD and save the MP4 file.
The file is an H.264 MP4 with its sound in the same file. The reel has to be public, because the tool sees only what a visitor without a Facebook account can see. The guide on how to copy a Facebook video link covers the link step in detail.
Where the File Lands on iPhone
Safari saves a downloaded file to the Downloads folder inside the Files app. It does not place the file in the Photos app.
To move the reel to your camera roll, open the file in the Files app, tap Share, then tap Save Video. The reel then appears in Photos.
Where the File Lands on Android
Chrome and other Android browsers save the file to the Downloads folder. You can open it from the Files app, and most gallery apps list it in a Downloads album.
Every Facebook Video Is Now a Reel
Facebook renamed its Videos tab to the Reels tab in June 2025. Since the end of September 2025, every video posted to Facebook is shared as a reel, regardless of its length or orientation. Stories and live videos are the exceptions.
For saving, this changes nothing in practice. A long horizontal video and a short vertical clip are both reels now, and the same steps apply to both. You can download Facebook videos of either kind with the same link.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Facebook have a download button for other people's reels?
No. Facebook's Help Centre states that you cannot download reels or legacy videos created by others. The Download reel option appears only on your own reels.
Why is my downloaded reel silent?
Facebook mutes the download of your own reel when it uses someone else's original audio or is a remix. Licensed music may be muted or partly included, depending on your country's music rights.
Is Save reel the same as Download reel?
No. Save reel adds a bookmark inside Facebook and puts no file on your phone. The article on Facebook Save video explains the difference.
Why does a reel fail to download?
The most common cause is that the reel is not public. The list of reasons for Facebook download not working covers each case.