Social Media Video Downloader
Paste a link from X, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, Pinterest, Facebook, Snapchat, RedNote or Twitch. VideoCatch finds the original MP4, and your browser downloads it straight from the platform's own servers.
Platform detected automatically · Videos, images, GIFs — all content types · Straight from the platform's servers
Supported platforms
How this social media video downloader works
- Copy the post link
On X, Instagram, TikTok or any supported platform, tap Share, then Copy link. Any public post with a video works.
- Paste it above
VideoCatch reads the post and lists every size the platform serves, largest first.
- Save the MP4
Pick a size and download. The file arrives from the platform, at the quality the author uploaded, with no watermark.
What you get from this social media video downloader
Questions
Is it safe to use a social media video downloader?
VideoCatch never asks you to sign in, install anything, or grant access to your account. You paste a public post link, VideoCatch reads the post's public metadata, and your browser then downloads the file from the platform's own servers. The video never passes through us, so there is nothing here to keep or leak.
Can I download private or protected posts?
No. VideoCatch only sees what a signed-out visitor sees. Protected accounts, private Instagram profiles, follower-only posts and deleted posts all fail, and no setting changes that. If a post opens for you only because you are logged in, this tool cannot reach it either. Asking for your platform password is the one thing it will never do.
Which formats do I get?
MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio: the same encodes the platform serves to its own player, usually two to five sizes from around 360p up to whatever the author uploaded. Animated GIFs on X are already looping MP4 files, so that is what you get for those too. Nothing is re-encoded along the way.
Why does the site not support YouTube?
YouTube is left out deliberately: its terms forbid it, and the copyright exposure is not worth carrying. Reddit is out because its videos ship as separate video and audio streams that a browser cannot join without server-side muxing; the same applies to Twitch VODs and live streams, which is why only Twitch clips are on the list. All nine platforms above work today.
Formats, sizes and platforms
Every download is an MP4 with H.264 video and AAC audio, the same encode the platform hands to its own web player. Nothing is re-encoded on the way to you, so the file you save is what the author uploaded at that size, with no watermark on it.
How many sizes you see depends on the platform. An X post usually offers two to five: 480 × 270, 640 × 360 and 1280 × 720 are common, and a 4K master adds 1920 × 1080 and 3840 × 2160. Instagram serves its web player a single progressive file, so an Instagram post shows one row, and a RedNote note usually shows one as well. The largest is preselected, and its exact byte size is shown, so you know what a download will cost before you start it.
All nine platforms on the list above work today: X videos and GIFs, Instagram, Threads, RedNote, Pinterest, Snapchat Spotlight, Facebook videos and reels, TikTok, and Twitch clips. Each tile links to the page written for it. Instagram stories stay out until there is a way to read them without a login, and RedNote asks for the link its Share button produces rather than one typed by hand.
| Platform | Official upload limit | Files VideoCatch lists | Watermark added by the platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| X | 140 seconds and 512 MB on a free account; under 4 hours at 1080p and 16 GB on Premium | 2 to 5, one per encode | None |
| Reels at 30 FPS and at least 720 px, with up to 20 minutes of recording | 1 | None | |
| Threads | Video up to 5 minutes per post | 1 | None |
| TikTok | Up to 10 minutes at 1080p from the app; 60 minutes from the web uploader | 1 to 2 (with and without watermark when available) | Watermark on the app export; clean rendition often available separately |
| Up to 15 minutes; recommended 1000 × 1500 px | 1 | None | |
| Snapchat | Spotlight videos up to 5 minutes | 1 | None |
| Videos up to 240 minutes; reels up to 90 seconds | 1 to 2, SD and HD when available | None | |
| RedNote | Not published; the link needs the token the Share button adds | 1 or more, one per encode | None |
| Twitch | Clips up to 60 seconds, cut from a live stream or VOD | 1 | None |
Supported link formats
Paste the URL exactly as your app copied it. All of these resolve to the same post and all of them work: x.com/user/status/123, twitter.com/user/status/123, mobile.twitter.com/user/status/123, the /i/web/status/123 form the app sometimes produces, and a link with /photo/1 or /video/1 stuck on the end. Query strings such as ?s=20&t=AbCdEf are tracking parameters and are ignored.
The share sheet on X often gives you a t.co short link. Those carry no post ID at all, so VideoCatch follows the redirect once to find the post behind it and then continues normally. It costs about a second on the first lookup and nothing afterwards, since the result is cached for an hour.
Instagram links work the same way. instagram.com/p/, /reel/, /reels/ and the retired /tv/ path all resolve, with or without www and with or without a trailing slash, and a /reel/ link opens the reels page rather than the video one. A /stories/ link is refused, because stories cannot be read without a login. Threads accepts threads.com, the older threads.net, and the short /t/ form. TikTok accepts tiktok.com/@user/video/ links and vt.tiktok.com short links from the share sheet. Pinterest takes pinterest.com/pin/ links and pin.it short links on any regional domain. Snapchat handles snapchat.com/spotlight/ links. Facebook works with facebook.com and fb.watch links. Twitch accepts twitch.tv/*/clip/ links. RedNote is the one platform with an extra rule: its links must come from the app's Share button, because RedNote signs each shared link with a token and refuses one without it. YouTube is the only major platform deliberately excluded, because its terms forbid third-party downloads.
Troubleshooting
If a link comes back as "we couldn't open that post", the post is usually not public. Protected accounts, private Instagram profiles, follower-only posts and deleted posts all look identical from the outside, and none of them can be reached without an account, which this tool deliberately does not ask you for. Suspended accounts behave the same way.
If the post opens with photos instead of a video, every photo is listed at its original resolution and each has its own Download button, with Download all packing the whole set into one zip in your browser. If several links fail in quick succession, you have probably hit the rate limit of 30 lookups per ten minutes per IP address, which exists so that automated abuse cannot get the whole service blocked. Wait a few minutes and it clears itself.
On iPhone, tapping Download opens the MP4 in Safari's player instead of saving it. Tap the Share button, then Save Video, and the file lands in Photos; on iOS 18 and later you can also long-press the video and choose Save to Photos. On Android, Chrome saves straight to the Downloads folder. On desktop, right-click the Download link and choose Save link as if your browser opens the file instead of saving it.
Sources
- X Help Center, How to share and watch videos on X
- Instagram Help Center, Reel size and aspect ratios on Instagram
- Instagram Help Center, Record a reel on Instagram
- Meta Newsroom, Introducing Threads: A New Way to Share With Text (2023-07-05)
- Xiaohongshu, 小红书创作服务平台 (Xiaohongshu Creator Platform)
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