3 min read · updated
Your download failed. Here is how to work out why
Open the link in a private browser window. If the video does not play there, it is private, deleted or region-locked and no tool can fetch it. If it does play, you almost certainly copied the wrong link.
Start with the private-window test
A downloader sees exactly what a logged-out visitor sees. So open a private or incognito window, paste the link, and try to play the video.
If it does not play for you there, it will not resolve here either. That is not a limitation we can engineer around — the file is genuinely not being served to anonymous requests.
If it does not play in a private window
- The account is private, or the post is friends-only. Only the owner can change that.
- The post was deleted. Platforms purge the file quickly afterwards.
- It is age-restricted, which requires a signed-in session.
- It is region-locked and our servers are outside the permitted region.
- It is members-only, subscriber-only or otherwise paid.
If it does play but the download still failed
- You probably copied a feed or profile link rather than the post's own link. Open the post itself, then use its Share → Copy link.
- Some apps append tracking parameters that confuse extraction — try trimming everything after the '?' in the URL.
- It may be a live stream. There is no finished file until the broadcast ends and a replay is published.
- The platform may be temporarily rate-limiting us. Wait a minute and try again.
If a download starts and then stops
That is nearly always the connection rather than the file, especially on mobile. Pick a smaller row — 1080p instead of 4K — and try again. The file size next to each option tells you what you are committing to before you start.