Where to find a downloaded video on Android

The video goes to the Downloads folder. Here's how to find it and move it to your gallery.

On Android, every file your browser downloads goes to the same place: the Downloads folder (on some phones it's called Download). A Facebook video is no exception. What changes from one phone to another is the name of the files app and whether your gallery shows that folder automatically.

1. Tap the "download complete" notification

As soon as the download finishes, Chrome (or whichever browser you use) shows a notification at the top of the screen. Pull down the notification shade and tap it: the video opens straight in your phone's player.

Android notification shade with the completed download highlighted

If the notification is already gone, go on to the next step.

2. Open your files app and go to Downloads

Look in your app list for Files, My Files (Samsung) or File Manager (Xiaomi, Motorola and others). Inside, tap the Downloads folder. The newest files appear first, and the video is named after the post's title.

Files app with the Downloads folder highlighted

3. Move the video to your gallery

Many gallery apps, such as Google Photos, already show the Downloads folder as its own album. If the video doesn't show up, move the file: in the files app, press and hold the video, choose Move and pick the Movies or DCIM folder. A few seconds later it appears in your gallery.

4. Watch it, share it or delete it

Once the video is in your gallery, you can watch it offline and share it with the usual share button. To free up space later, delete the file from the Downloads folder: if it's the same file, the gallery copy goes with it.

Still can't find it?

Make sure the download finished. Long or HD videos can take a few minutes on a slow connection. If the notification showed an error, download it again.
Use the search in your files app. Type a word from the video's title or the extension mp4.
Check your browser's downloads. In Chrome, tap the three dots and then Downloads to see the list and open the file from there.
Look at your storage. If your phone is nearly full, the download may have stopped halfway. Free up some space and try again.

Paste the video link here

The video downloads but won't play. What can I do?

Install a free player like VLC, which opens any MP4. Some older phones can't play very high resolution videos; in that case, download the SD version instead.