How to Download Instagram Videos on PC
Updated 2026-10-01
Instagram's website is a deliberately reduced version of the app, and saving a video is one of the things it does not do. Here is how to get one onto a computer, without an account and without installing anything.
- 1Copy the link
Open the post or Reel on instagram.com and copy the address from the bar, or use the three dots and Copy link. instagram.com/reel/ and /p/ links both work.
- 2Paste it into VoomReel
Open the home page in another tab and paste the link into the box.
- 3Download
Click Download. The file lands in your Downloads folder as an .mp4.
The desktop site is missing more than the save button
Instagram's web version has never been the full product. Plenty of the app's features are absent from it, and saving a video is one of them — there is no menu item for it anywhere, on any post.
The desktop applications are mostly the website in a window, so they have the same gap. Anything that saves an Instagram video on a computer is fetching the video file the player is already streaming.
Usually, the file does not pass through our server
Instagram is unusual in this, and on desktop it is the part you notice. The link is resolved on our side and then, for most videos, your own browser fetches the file directly from Instagram's servers — at the speed of your connection, which on a wired desktop line is fast.
The exception is a video whose address Instagram serves without its sound. Downloading that as-is would give you a silent file, so it is fetched again with its audio track and joined on our server as it streams to you — copied, not re-encoded. Either way, nothing is kept afterwards.
What the file will be
An .mp4 with H.264 video and AAC audio, at whatever size Instagram serves for that post — typically 1080x1920 for a recent Reel. Windows, macOS and Linux all play it without installing anything.
Nothing is re-encoded, so nothing is lost: the picture and sound you save are exactly what Instagram was playing you. Instagram re-encodes on upload, so this is already not the creator's master, but it is the best public copy in existence.
No watermark is added, because nothing is drawn onto the picture. A watermark you can see was burned in before upload and is part of the video.
Carousels and multiple videos
A post with several items lists each one separately, so you can take a single video from a carousel rather than all of them. On a large screen that is easier to work with than it is on a phone.
Photos in the same post come through as full-resolution images rather than thumbnails.
Why not an extension
Extensions are the usual desktop suggestion and the one to be careful with. A video-downloader extension asks to read and change data on every site you visit — the broadest permission the browser grants — and it keeps that permission while updating itself silently.
A web page sees the link you paste and nothing else, and closing the tab ends it.
What will not download
Private accounts. If you would have to be an approved follower to see it, there is no public copy, and VoomReel never signs in.
Stories, which expire and are served only to signed-in viewers.
Deleted posts.
FAQ
Can I download Instagram videos on PC without logging in?
Yes. Only public posts work, which is exactly what a signed-out visitor can already see.
Why does Instagram's website have no download button?
The web version has always been a reduced version of the app, and saving video is one of the features it omits.
Where does the file go?
Your browser's Downloads folder, unless you have set it to ask each time.
What quality will I get?
Whatever Instagram serves — usually 1080x1920 for a recent Reel. Nothing is re-encoded, so nothing is lost.
Does the video pass through your server?
Usually not: most videos download directly from Instagram's servers to your computer. One Instagram serves without its sound is joined with its audio on our server as it streams through, and nothing is kept.
Does it work on Windows, Mac and Linux?
Yes, in any modern browser. Nothing runs on your machine.
Can I download from a private account?
No. Only content visible to a signed-out visitor can be fetched.
Can I take one video out of a carousel?
Yes. Each item in the post is listed separately.