There are three ways to download an Instagram video on your iPhone; using a third-party app, using an online service in Safari, and with a Siri Shortcut. And some of them even support downloading Instagram videos from the public as well as private accounts you follow. Let’s begin.
Method I – Download Instagram Videos with Siri Shortcuts
Instagram Media Saver is a sophisticated Siri shortcut created by user @mvan231 that allows you to download any Instagram video to your iPhone. You can download video posts, Stories, IGTV, and even Reels but only if the creator’s account is public. Start by downloading and installing the Shortcut to your iPhone using this iCloud or Routinehub link. It would show you a preview of the entire shortcut and all the actions it can take. Scroll to the bottom and tap Add Untrusted Shortcut. Read: 6 Best Siri Shortcuts Apps for Power Users
Now, the shortcut is ready for action. Open the Instagram app and go to the video that you wish to download. Tap the Options button in the top right corner of the video. It would bring up the menu, tap “Share to…” to open the Share Sheet. Scroll down and you’d find all the Shortcuts that are available. Find Instagram Media Saver and tap the icon to run the shortcut.
It would extract the media associated with the URL and present a few different files for download. Tap the option that has a timestamp and then Done. Your Instagram video would be downloaded and saved to the Photos app.
Pros
Download Stories, Posts, Reels, and IGTV with just a tap Let’s you download thumbnails and pictures as well
Cons
Only Works with Public posts
Method 2- Use a third-party app
Repost: For Instagram is one of the most popular apps for downloading Instagram pictures and videos. The app makes it really convenient and you can get started by installing it from the App Store. Using Repost has one advantage over the Siri Shortcut method, you can even save videos of private accounts that you follow. But you would have to enter your login credentials within the app because that is the only way the API would let you download private posts.
Open the Instagram app and go to the video that you wish to download. Tap the Options button on the top right corner of the video and tap Copy link.
Now, Open the Repost app and your post would automatically be discovered. Tap the thumbnail and open the Share Sheet by tapping the Share button on the top right corner of the screen.
Simply tap Save Video and the Instagram video would be downloaded to your Photos app.
As mention above, next, you have to enter your login credentials within the app because that is the only way the API would let you download private posts. To feed your credentials, you simply need to copy a link of a private post and the app would automatically ask you to enter the credentials. You would have to do this only once. Pros
Archive of all the videos you’ve downloaded. You can download multiple posts. Works with Posts, Stories, Reels, and IGTV. You can even download videos of Private accounts that you follow.
Cons
None.
Method 3 – Use Safari
If you’re not too keen on installing apps or using shortcuts and just want a one-off way to download a video from Instagram, you can use Safari. Downloadgram.com lets you download photos, videos, and IGTV videos. Simply open the Safari web browser on your iPhone and go to downloadgram.com. Paste the URL of the Instagram post in the Input field in the middle of the page, and tap Download. It would fetch the video details and present another, more green Download Video button. Long Press the Download Video Button to invoke the Peek Menu.
Tap “Download Linked File” from the Peek Menu and your download would begin in the Download manager. Once done, tap the Downloads button on the top right corner and open the downloaded video.
Right now the video is stored to your iCloud account and you can access it using the Files app but if you want to save it to the Photos app, tap the Share button on the bottom left and Save Video.
Pros
No installation required Let’s you Download Posts, Videos, and IGTV
Cons
Doesn’t work with Private Accounts Doesn’t work with Reels
Final Words
These were three ways to download Instagram videos to your iPhone. All three methods work just fine for public accounts but due to Instagram’s API limitations, only the Repost app can download private videos. Let me know if you face any problems with these methods in the comments below or hit me up on Twitter.
