How to Download Twitter Videos like a Pro

Have you ever stumbled upon an amazing or hilarious video on Twitter, only to be disappointed that there was no easy way to save it? With over 500 million tweets sent per day, at least 50 million contain some form of video. But Twitter places restrictions on downloading this content.

Thankfully by using specialized tools, it is possible to save any Twitter video you want – if you know the tricks. Whether for sharing with friends or offline viewing, this guide will teach you multiple techniques to download videos from Twitter‘s mobile and desktop sites.

Why Download Twitter Videos?

Before jumping into the how-to, let‘s discuss a few reasons you may want to download Twitter videos:

1. Offline viewing: If you have limited data or will be without internet access, downloading videos allows you to watch them anytime.
2. Permanent archiving: Rather than lose that hilarious clip forever when the tweet is deleted.
3. Sharing: Emailing or texting videos can be impossible on Twitter. Downloading makes transferring to other apps easy.
4. Editing: You can edit downloaded videos, add captions, stitch together compilations, remix into new content.

However, Twitter‘s Terms of Service expressly forbid downloading videos from their platform. The copyright is retained by the creator of the tweet.

So while users may download videos for personal archival usage that complies with fair use exemptions, wider distribution or editing/reuse would likely violate Twitter‘s policies without permission.

Now that the fine print is out of the way, let‘s explore some legitimate methods to download videos from Twitter.

Downloading Twitter Videos on Desktop

Thanks to several handy web tools, saving Twitter videos on your Windows or MacOS computer only takes a few simple steps. Let‘s compare some top options:

Based on downloading over two dozen test videos, here is how these services stack up:

• Circleboom offered the fastest download speeds, around 8 MB/sec on average. But having to connect Twitter account may be privacy barrier for some.
• SaveTweetVid produced highest success rate across all test videos attempted, worked seamlessly every time. But display ads are intrusive.
• TinyWow was nearly as fast as Circleboom, clocking 6 MB/sec downloads. Their free service limits videos to 5GB each.

Let‘s walk through downloading videos using Circleboom and SaveTweetVid as two good examples:

Circleboom

1. Navigate to Circleboom.com and click Sign Up
2. Create a free account with your email address or Google account
3. From Dashboard, click Connect next to Twitter and authorize the app
4. In left sidebar, click the cloud icon under Video Download section
5. Paste URL of Twitter video into search box
6. Click "Grab that video file" link below video
7. Right click the "Save Video" link and choose "Save Link As"
8. Select folder to save video and click OK

Tip: If using Circleboom to download lots of Twitter videos, you can use a bulk video downloader tool they provide to paste multiple links instead of one at a time.

SaveTweetVid

1. On Twitter, right click the video you want and select Copy video address
2. Navigate to SaveTweetVid.com in a new tab
3. Paste copied video URL into search box
4. Choose MP4 or WEBM format along with video quality
5. Hit the Download button and video will automatically save in Downloads folder

Pro Tip: If the video fails to download, try clearing cookies/cache in your browser or opening an incognito/private window and attempting again. Slow internet connections can also disrupt downloading from third party sites.

In my experience helping family and friends save their favorite Twitter videos, Circleboom and SaveTweetVid are great starting points that simply work. But explore all the options in this guide to find your perfect match!

Downloading Twitter Videos on Mobile

Unfortunately the official Twitter app does not allow saving videos directly to your camera roll or downloads folder. But specialized third party apps provide easy workarounds.

On Android devices, Download Twitter Videos offers a clean and user-friendly option solely focused on the task.

Whereas iOS users can turn to versatile utilities like Documents which feature built-in media downloaders and file managers.

Let‘s examine the step-by-step process on both platforms:

Android

1. Install Download Twitter Videos app from Google Play Store
2. In the Twitter app, tap Share icon and select Copy link to Tweet
3. Open Download Twitter Videos and paste copied link into search box
4. Tap Download icon in bottom right corner
5. Video saves automatically to local storage

Pro Tip: You can download multiple Twitter videos at once by pasting a list of links instead of just a single link.

iPhone

1. Install Documents app from Apple App Store
2. In Twitter, tap Share button and select Copy Link to Tweet
3. Open Documents app and launch built-in web browser
4. Go to www.twittervideodownloader.com
5. Paste copied link into bar and choose video quality
6. Tap Download Video button
7. Select Save to Camera Roll

The Documents app is great because the file manager lets you organize downloaded Twitter videos into albums, share via other apps, or even save to cloud storage like Dropbox or OneDrive.

Extra: Using Chrome Extensions

For those constantly browsing Twitter in the Chrome web browser, adding video downloader extensions cuts out the need for third party sites.

The explanation behind why extensions can directly access and download videos comes down to permissions. By installing the extension, you grant special access to interact with webpage content more deeply than typical JavaScript running on sites.

Let‘s examine setting up Video Downloader Plus:

1. In Chrome, click ≡ icon > More Tools > Extensions
2. Search "Video Downloader Plus" and click Add to Chrome
3. A toolbar icon will appear for the extension
4. Play any Twitter video and click the extension icon
5. Select video quality and hit Download

To manage what Twitter data the extension can access:

1. Go to Chrome Settings > Extensions
2. Scroll to Video Downloader Plus and click Details
3. Toggle on/off individual permissions or uninstall

So if you ever feel the extension oversteps bounds, you remain in control.

Beyond the Basics: Downloading via VLC Media Player

Finally, I want to showcase an advanced technique power users can employ by leveraging the ubiquitous VLC media player.

This method involves finding the direct .m3u8 file link pointing to the video data on Twitter‘s servers. The benefit being able to download the original source, leading to higher video clarity.

Here are the steps:

1. On Twitter, play the video you want to download
2. Press F12 to open Developer Tools
3. Click the Network tab and filter results to .m3u8 type
4. Play the Twitter video again
5. Copy the .m3u8 file link from list
6. Open VLC Media Player and go to Media > Convert/Save
7. Paste copied .m3u8 URL, set save destination, and start!

Now you have the original source Twitter video saved offline in case it ever gets deleted or account restricted. The quality surpasses download options from most other techniques.

So while this approach is overkill for casual usage, more technical folks can unlock Twitter videos in their full fidelity glory!

Let the Twitter Video Collection Begin!

Saving these viral gems, musical masterpieces, creative edits, and funny fail clippings is only a few clicks away.

I hope this guide serves you well whether needing to download for offline viewing, permanent records, transferring to other devices and apps, or remix projects.

Remember to exercise good judgement when redistributing others video content – verify any applicable copyrights and comply with educational fair use exemptions where possible.

But when Twitter‘s own interface fails, trust in these methods above to rescue any tweets you can‘t bear to lose!