Reels in their original quality
Reels are short vertical videos, usually 1080 × 1920 pixels. vid-down fetches the file Instagram itself serves, so you get the same resolution and the original sound, ready to watch offline.
The saved file is a standard MP4 that plays on every phone, tablet and computer, and that you can trim or caption in any video editor.
Finding the link of a Reel
In the Instagram app, open the Reel and tap the paper-plane icon, then Copy link. On instagram.com, open the Reel and copy the address from your browser bar. Both look like instagram.com/reel/… and both work.
Only want the song or the voice-over?
Tap MP3 instead of MP4 to keep just the audio as a 192 kbps file. Music in Reels is protected by copyright, so keep audio for personal listening unless you have the rights holder's permission.
Saving a Instagram Reel on iPhone or iPad
Open vid-down in Safari, paste the link and tap MP4 HD. Safari asks whether you want to download the file; tap Download. The Reel lands in the Files app under Downloads.
To move it to your Photos library, open the file in Files, tap the Share button and choose Save Video. From then on it behaves like any clip you recorded yourself.
Saving a Instagram Reel on Android
In Chrome or any other browser, paste the link, press Get video and choose a format. The Reel is saved to the Download folder and usually shows up in your gallery a moment later.
If you cannot find it, open the Files app (sometimes called My Files) and look in Downloads, or pull down the notification shade and tap the finished download.
On a Windows PC, Mac or Chromebook
Copy the address of the Instagram post from your browser bar, paste it into vid-down and pick a format. The file goes to your normal Downloads folder and plays in any modern video player.