How to Download Instagram Reels

Want to repurpose your content on Instagram Reels and TikTok? Here’s how to download and save your Instagram Reels, IGTV videos and more.

Posted 1 year ago

Written by

Julia Cohen

Posted 1 year ago

Want to learn how to download Instagram Reels? It’s no secret that short-form video content like Instagram Reels are completely reigning right now when it comes to successful social media content. This is for a number of reasons, including Instagram’s recent statement, which highlighted their further shift away from just being a photo-sharing app.

Because video content naturally takes more resources and effort than still video content, you’ll probably want to repurpose the videos you create, share other users’ content, or post your Reels across all your platforms. In today’s article, we’ll walk you through how to download and re-use Reels, easily!

What Are Instagram Reels?

Before we tell you how to download Instagram Reels, we should probably explain what they are in case anyone’s unsure. If you’re already familiar, feel free to skip to the next section!

Instagram Reels are a relatively new Instagram feature designed to piggyback on the success of short-form video apps like Vine (RIP) and TikTok. Users can record short videos of themselves (up to 60 seconds) and share them in one of four places, including:

Profiles
Stories
Explore Tab
Reels Tab

They can be recorded in either portrait or landscape mode, and users have the option to use audio from other videos or add their own music. Reels also come with a bunch of fun creative tools, like the ability to speed up or slow down your video, as well as AR effects and filters.

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Why Should You Care About Instagram Reels?

There are lots of reasons you might want to start using Instagram Reels in your content strategy. For one, they’re a great way to show off your personality and get creative with the content you share. Unlike a traditional feed post (which is often more polished and put together), Reels are meant to be raw and unfiltered.

This makes them the perfect platform for behind-the-scenes content, quick tips or tutorials, and other types of bite-sized relatable content. And because they’re so easy to consume, they’re great for quickly catching the attention of your target audience as they scroll through the app.

Not to mention, Instagram has been giving Reels some serious real estate lately. In fact, if you open up the app right now and go to the Explore tab, you’ll see that Reels are given their own dedicated space at the top of the page. This is a clear indication that Instagram is betting big on Reels, which means now is the perfect time to start using them in your content strategy!

How to Download Instagram Reels

Now that we’ve gone over what Reels are and why you should start using them, it’s time to get into the nitty-gritty of how to actually download and save them!

If you’ve just created the perfect Reel, it’s totally understandable to want to post it in other places (e.g., Instagram Stories, TikTok, etc.). But is there an easy way to download a Reel you’ve posted?

Yes! You can download your Instagram Reels by heading into the Reels section of your profile and following three simple steps:

Select the Reel you want to download.
Click the ‘…’ button in the bottom right-hand corner.
Select ‘Save to Camera Roll’.

Easy as pie! 🍰

How To Download A Reel Without The Instagram Reel Logo

When you head to your camera roll to check out the Reel you’ve just downloaded, you’ll probably notice a little Instagram Reel logo has been added. While this may not bother you, it might make sense to get rid of this if you’ll be posting the Reel to other platforms like TikTok.

How do you get rid of it? Well, unfortunately, there isn’t a native solution to this problem. The watermark is free advertising for Instagram, after all! Instead, you’ll have to use an Instagram Reel video downloader to download Reels without the logo.

There are a ton of great options for Reel savers out there, but if you’re looking for suggestions, we recommend:

While all of these apps look different, they function almost identically. To download one of your Reels without the watermark, you’ll need to follow five simple steps:

Select the Reel you want to download.
Click the ‘…’ button in the bottom right-hand corner.
Select ‘Copy Link’.
Paste the link into the converter app.
Download to your camera roll or hard drive!

Once you have the downloaded file, you’re free to post it wherever you’d like—no need to worry about the Instagram Reel logo!

How To Download An Instagram Reel With Audio (Without Posting)

When you record a Reel and choose a great audio track to go over it, you need to post it to be able to download it with said audio. And if you’ve ever recorded a Reel that you wanted to save, but didn’t want to post, that’s frustrating! Don’t worry, though—there are two workarounds you can use.

The first is by creating a Close Friends list that consists only of one of your best friends or your “finsta” account.
Once you’ve done this, you can make Reels you want to download visible to this Close Friends list rather than your main follower list.
From there, you’re free to download the Reel with the sound included—and no one except your Close Friends needs to see it!

The second is a bit more clumsy, but it does still work!

Basically, you’ll need to start screen recording as you open up the Reel.
Once it has played all the way through, open up your phone’s video editor and trim the beginning and end.
Finally, set the video to loop!

How To Download Someone Else’s Instagram Reel 👯‍♀️

If you’d like to download someone else’s Instagram Reel, the process is exactly the same as the one for downloading a Reel with no watermark. Here’s a quick refresher!

First, you’ll need to choose a Reel saver tool. You can use the same downloaders we mentioned before.

Next, you’ll need to follow these five simple steps:

Select the Reel you want to download.
Click the ‘…’ button in the bottom right-hand corner.
Select ‘Copy Link’.
Paste the link into the converter app.
Download to your camera roll or hard drive!

How To Repost Someone Else’s Instagram Reel On Instagram

The process we described above works great if you’re trying to download someone else’s Instagram Reel to repost on another platform, like TikTok. But what if you just want to repost the Reel on your Instagram Story?

Good news—there’s a shortcut! Instagram loves it when profiles engage with each other because everyone (including the company) wins. As a result, they’ve made it easy to repost Reels to Stories. All you need to do is follow four simple steps:

Select the Reel you want to repost.
Tap the paper airplane icon on the right-hand panel.
Tap ‘Add Reel To Your Story.‘
Tap ‘Post’.

Once you’ve done this, your followers will be able to view the Reel and even tap onto the creator’s page via the Story post!

How To Download An Instagram Reel Using Stories

Once you know how to repost someone’s Reel on your Story, it actually opens another cool way of downloading that Reel! Rather than following steps 1-4 from the guide above, only follow steps 1-3.

Once you’re finished, you should be looking at a preview of the Reel before it goes live on your Story. Rather than going through with the post, tap the ‘Download’ icon at the top of your screen!

The only downside of this method is that you’ll still have that watermark in the final video. But if you’re okay with that, this might be easier than working with a third-party converter.

How To Download A TikTok Video

Want to download a TikTok video and repost it on Instagram? Downloading a TikTok video is incredibly simple… if the creator has downloading enabled! All you need to do is find the video you want to download, click the share button, and select the ‘Download Video’ option. Once the download is complete, you can view the video on your camera roll or hard drive!

However, if downloading is disabled, you’ll need to look for an Instagram Reel video downloader, like:

These converter apps will allow you to download any public TikTok video, even if downloading is disabled. All you need to do is find the video you want to download, copy the link, and paste it into the converter. Once the file is downloaded, you can view it on your camera roll or hard drive!

How To Download A TikTok Video Without A Watermark 🕹

If you want to download a TikTok video without a watermark, you’ll need to use a third-party converter like the three we mentioned above.

To get started, you’ll need to find the video you want to download and copy its link.
Then, simply paste the link into the converter and hit ‘Download’!
Once the download is complete, you’ll be able to view the video in your camera roll or hard drive.
And since there’s no watermark, feel free to post it wherever you’d like!

Tip: If you’re planning on reposting a TikTok with music to Instagram as a Reel, you’ll want to overlay audio from Instagram’s library rather than using the audio from TikTok. This will help make sure the video’s audio registers with Instagram’s algorithm.

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How To Save Instagram Stories 📖

Most things can be done by using the Repost app, but Stories are slightly trickier than their links are not registered the same. To download a Story you have posted, you can just click the ‘…’ icon and select ‘Save to Camera Roll.’ However, when it comes to downloading someone else’s Instagram Story, it can be a little more difficult.

The best methods we have come across depend on whether you are downloading a static Instagram Story or a video-based Instagram Story:

For Static Instagram Stories: When you are watching the Story, tap and hold down on it. This should make the surrounding Instagram features disappear, so you can screenshot the image and save it to your camera roll.
For Video-Based Instagram Stories: Turn on the screen recording feature on your phone, and click on the video Story you want to view. This will record the video, which you can later resize and edit, to remove any Instagram features you don’t want.

Finally, you can also ask the posted to save down and send the Story across to you, when you ask for permission to repost it 😉 If you want more tips and tricks on creating engaging and strategic Instagram Stories, check out our new guide, here!

Bottom Line

Now, you’re armed with everything you need to know to be able to download Instagram Reels and repurpose your content to your heart’s content. If you want to continue your path to organic growth and step up your Instagram strategy, click the banner below to view our latest blog post!