How to Save Facebook Stories and Videos

Different types of Facebook content you can save

Facebook is not just one kind of video anymore. Over the years they have added Stories, Reels, live videos, and even photo slideshows that auto-play like videos. If you want to save something from Facebook, it helps to know what type of content you are dealing with because the process varies slightly depending on the format.

Let me break down each type and how to save it.

Regular Facebook videos

These are the standard video posts that have been on Facebook since the beginning. Someone uploads a video, it appears in a post on their timeline or in a group, and people can watch, like, comment, and share it.

Downloading these is straightforward. Copy the link to the post, paste it into FSaver, and download. You get to pick between HD and SD quality in most cases. These videos can be any length, from a few seconds to several hours for longer uploads like lectures or events.

If you have never downloaded a Facebook video before, our complete how-to guide walks through every step on every device.

Facebook Stories

Stories are the content that appears at the top of your Facebook feed in those little circles. They are temporary by design. A Story disappears 24 hours after it was posted. That is the whole point of the format. It is supposed to feel fleeting and casual.

But sometimes a Story has something you want to keep. Maybe a friend posted a video from an event you both attended, or someone shared a recipe that you want to try later. Waiting 24 hours means it is gone.

How to save a Facebook Story

You can save Facebook Stories from public accounts using FSaver. Here is how:

• Open the Story you want to save
• Look for a way to get the link. On mobile, you can sometimes tap the three dots and find a "Copy link" option. On desktop, the URL in the address bar while viewing the Story is what you need.
• Paste that link into FSaver and download

One thing to note: Stories from private accounts are not accessible through FSaver. Just like regular videos, we only work with public content. Also, you need to act fast. Once the 24-hour window closes, the Story is gone from Facebook's servers and nobody can download it.

Facebook Reels

Reels are Facebook's answer to TikTok. Short, vertical videos, usually under 90 seconds. They live in the Reels tab and they show up in your regular feed too. A lot of creators post Reels because the algorithm tends to push them to a wider audience than regular posts.

Downloading Reels works the same way as regular videos. Copy the link, paste it into FSaver, download. We have a whole separate guide on downloading Facebook Reels if you want the detailed walkthrough with tips for getting the right link on mobile.

The quality on Reels varies quite a bit. Some are crisp 1080p, others look like they were filmed on a potato. That depends entirely on the original creator and their phone camera. FSaver gives you whatever quality Facebook has available.

Live videos (after they end)

Facebook Live lets people broadcast in real time. While a video is actively live, you cannot download it. But after the stream ends, Facebook saves it as a regular video post on the person's page (unless they choose to delete it).

Once the live video is saved as a post, you can download it like any other video. Copy the link, paste it into FSaver, pick your quality. Live videos tend to be longer, so the file sizes can be big, sometimes hundreds of megabytes for a multi-hour stream. Make sure you have enough storage and a decent internet connection.

Photo slideshows and auto-play albums

Sometimes what looks like a video on Facebook is actually a photo slideshow. Facebook sometimes auto-generates a video from a series of photos, adding transitions and music. You see these in "Memories" posts and in certain album formats.

These are trickier. If Facebook generated the slideshow as an actual video file, FSaver can download it. If it is just a series of images being displayed with a JavaScript animation on the page, there is no video file to download. You would need to save the individual photos instead.

How to tell the difference: if the post has video controls (play, pause, a progress bar), there is probably a video file. If it just auto-scrolls through images, it is likely not a real video.

Group videos

Videos posted in Facebook groups follow the same rules as everything else. If the group is public, FSaver can access the video. If the group is private, it cannot. Many active Facebook groups are private, which means a lot of group content is not downloadable through external tools.

If you need a video from a private group, your best bet is to ask the person who posted it to share it with you directly, or to download it yourself using Facebook's built-in "Save video" option (which saves it to your Facebook account, not to your device as a file).

Quick reference

• Regular videos: copy the post link, paste into FSaver, download. Works with all public videos.
• Stories: save the link while the Story is still live (within 24 hours). Public Stories only.
• Reels: same process as regular videos. Copy link, paste, download.
• Live videos: wait until the stream ends, then download the saved post.
• Photo slideshows: works if Facebook generated an actual video file. Does not work for animated photo albums.
• Private content: not accessible through FSaver, regardless of content type.

For more on the download process, start with our main download guide. If you mainly want to save Reels, check out the Reels-specific guide.