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Is It Legal to Download Instagram Reels? Copyright Basics Explained

Downloading a reel is easy; what you can do with it is another question. A plain-language guide to copyright, permission and respectful use.

By Downloaderize Published 4 min read

Two hands holding a smartphone over a breakfast bowl and a coffee, photographing the table

Downloading a public reel or photo takes seconds. What you are allowed to do with it is a different question. This plain-language guide covers who owns Instagram content, what personal downloading means, and when you need permission. It is general information, not legal advice; laws differ between countries.

Who owns an Instagram post?

The person who created it. Under copyright law in almost every country, a photo, video or piece of music is protected automatically the moment it is made; no registration is needed. Posting it on Instagram does not give that up.

Instagram’s Terms of Use say the same: creators keep ownership of what they post and grant Instagram a licence to show it on the platform. That licence is for Instagram, not for other users. A reel being public means anyone may watch it, not that anyone may reuse it.

Reels often contain more than one layer of rights:

  • the video and photos, owned by the creator;
  • the music, usually owned by a record label and publisher and licensed to Instagram for use inside the app only;
  • sometimes other people’s footage, logos or artwork that appear in the clip.

Personal downloading

Saving a copy of a public post to watch offline, for yourself, is the kind of use copyright owners rarely object to and that many legal systems tolerate. You are not distributing anything, and you are not taking away a sale.

Even so, keep in mind:

  • Instagram’s own rules ask users not to collect content from the platform by automated means. Downloading single posts you watch yourself is very different from mass scraping, but the platform’s terms still apply to your account.
  • Some reels can already be saved in the Instagram app: for public reels, Share → Download may be available if the creator allows it. That is the clearest sign of permission.
  • Content from private accounts is private. IG Downloader can’t access it, by design.

When you need permission

You generally need the creator’s permission (and for music, a licence) before you:

  • re-upload the video or photo to Instagram, TikTok, YouTube or anywhere else;
  • use it in an advertisement, a product page or anything that earns money;
  • edit it into your own content in a way that goes beyond a short quotation;
  • remove the creator’s name, watermark or credit.

Crediting the creator (“video by @name”) is good manners, but it does not replace permission. Copyright is about consent, not attribution.

Fair use and similar exceptions

The United States has fair use, and the UK, Canada, Australia and others have fair dealing. These exceptions can allow limited use for commentary, criticism, news reporting, teaching or parody. Whether a use is fair depends on the purpose, how much is used, and the effect on the original’s market, and it is decided case by case. If you plan to build something public on top of someone else’s reel, assume you need permission unless you are confident an exception applies.

How to ask for permission

Asking is usually easy and often welcomed:

  1. Send the creator a direct message on Instagram.
  2. Say what you want to use, where, and for how long.
  3. Offer credit and a link back to their account.
  4. Keep their reply (a screenshot is fine) as your record.

Brands and agencies typically handle this through a written licence instead.

Your own posts

Downloading content you created is always fine. If you lost the original file of a reel or photo you posted, paste its link into IG Downloader, or use Accounts Center → Your information and permissions → Download your information in Instagram to get an archive of everything you posted.

If your content is being misused

Instagram has a copyright reporting process for content posted without your permission. If you are a rights holder and want a post blocked from IG Downloader specifically, see our DMCA & Copyright Policy.

The short version

  • Watching offline, for yourself: generally fine.
  • Your own posts: always fine.
  • Re-posting, editing or monetising someone else’s work: ask first.
  • Music in reels: licensed to Instagram, not to you.

Download a post now

Paste any public Instagram reel, video or photo link and save it in full quality.

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