How to download video from VK / VKontakte

How to download a video from VK: step by step instructions for any occasion

VKontakte has long turned from an ordinary social network into a full-fledged ecosystem where you can exchange not only thoughts and impressions, but also files, videos and entire playlists. One catch: access to them by default is possible only with the Internet. And for offline work, you have to find ways to download the necessary songs and videos from VKontakte.

Many of the links and services that pop up upon request look suspicious – they ask you for access to a large amount of your data or offer to install unknown software. But are there safe ways to download videos from VK (and music at the same time) for free? “Secret” figured it out.

Is it legal to download videos and music from VKontakte?

The vast content library of VKontakte in the vast majority of cases is replenished by users, not copyright holders. Not surprisingly, despite the best efforts of the moderators, the lion’s share of the music and films posted on this social network is in a gray area in terms of copyright laws.

More precisely, according to the law, everything is clear: all works on the Internet are subject to copyright, no matter who uploaded a particular file. Another question is that with a huge scale of copying, it is not so easy to track and clean up.

Therefore, by default, we believe that, with rare exceptions, any reproduction of other people’s works without payment of royalties and without the consent of the copyright holder is illegal and remains at the user’s own risk. With some degree of probability, you can get a substantial fine if you use the downloaded music for commercial purposes (music in cafes, discos, etc.).

However, as already mentioned, there are exceptions. Without breaking the law, you can download your own videos that you previously uploaded to the social network, as well as video and audio, which are covered by the free Creative Commons CC0 (Public Domain) and CC BY (Attribution) license.

How to download a video from vk through the mobile version

In order to download video or music from VK to your device, third-party services are not always needed. The algorithm of actions, however, may not be the simplest, but a small instruction can be handled without involving intermediary applications.

For example, to download videos, you can use the mobile version of the site. It is available even on stationary PCs, just insert the latin letter m and a dot after it before the vk.com domain name. It should turn out m.vk.com.

Then follow the instructions:

find the video you want to download and play it, then pause it.

right-click a little to the right of the video on an empty space on the page and select “view page code” from the drop-down menu. It can also be called with the keyboard shortcut ctrl+U (cmd+U for macOS).

a window with the program code of the page will open on the right. Do not be afraid of the abundance of strange characters, search will help you find the right area. Press ctrl + F or cmd + F (find on the page) and enter the video extension in the line that appears – the default for VK is mp4. If not found, try looking for something that looks like a link on the source tag.

the desired line will be highlighted on the screen – there will be links to the desired video file in different resolutions. You need the first one – usually the original, highest resolution.

open this link in a new window in any convenient way without closing the original window. You will be taken to a separate tab with a video.

left-click on the icon on the video with three vertical dots. In the menu that opens, select “Download” and specify the path for the file where you want to save it.

This method requires a lot of “body movements” on the way to the goal, but it always works and does not require you to follow dubious links and download software from the Internet.

How to download music from VK through a browser without software and extensions

There is another tricky way to unload the entry you are interested in from VKontakte, bypassing third-party applications. To do this, you need to use the browser cache.

In different browsers, the algorithm of actions may vary slightly. For example, for Chrome it will be like this:

go to VK;

choose a track;

enable to load into the browser cache;

press the key combination Shift + Ctrl + I;

click “Network” / “Network”;

check the checkbox “Disable cache” / “Disable cache”;

turn on the filter “Media” / “Media”.

A row will open, in the Name column there will be a link to the file. After double-clicking on the link, it will open in the built-in player Chrome. From there, the file can already be downloaded by clicking on the button in the form of an arrow on the right side of the player panel.

In the Mozilla browser , the procedure is similar. But in the Opera browser , the path will be completely different:

choose a track;

click the right mouse button;

in the drop-down menu, select “Inspect element”;

start the track

find and click on the link (https:// with mp3 extension);

copy the link to the clipboard (Ctrl + C);

open a new tab in the browser;

paste the link (Ctrl + V);

remove the end of the link, starting with mp3 and further;

download music.

How to download music and videos through mobile applications for VK

Smartphone and tablet users have many ways to download music and videos from VKontakte to their device for free. To do this, you need to download downloader applications from the official app stores – Play Market or App Store.

To do this, you need to enter the search query “VK Music” and select from the drop-down applications. Look at the quantity and quality of ratings and user reviews.

What applications will help you download videos on Android and iPhone?

VkMusic;

Moozza;

BiRD;

“VKontakte: music, video, chats”;

VK Music (formerly Boom).

The latest application is the official paid VKontakte application that allows you to save music to your phone and listen without an internet connection. It works by subscription. But in this way you kill two birds with one stone:

use a guaranteed verified safe application from the social network itself without risks to your smartphone;

do not feel like a pirate and a delinquent, because part of the money from your subscription goes to the copyright holders of the tracks that you listen to.

Recently, the download option has also been wired into the official VK application by default, but it also works only by subscription – it also disables annoying ads in tracks and makes it possible to listen to music even while in another application, tab or with the smartphone screen turned off.

To download audio through the official VK application, you need to enter “Music” on the “Services” tab.

The tracks added to your playlist will immediately be displayed as a list – there will be a download icon next to each track (down arrow). You can also open any found track or playlist and click on the three dots on the right – a menu will be displayed, on top of which there will again be a button labeled “Download” .

With video, subject to a paid subscription, everything is also simple – just open the video window in the application and click on the three dots at the top. There will be a treasured option in the drop-down menu.

The rest of the downloader apps are free, but not legal. They are regularly removed from app stores at the request of VK developers. But they still come back with enviable regularity.

The main thing is to be careful, read reviews and search for the application you want to use, at least in a search engine. After all, sometimes cybercriminals create clones of popular applications, named almost the same, in order to use them to install a virus on devices – a miner, a blocker, or a spy that steals data.

How to Download Music or Video Using PC Software and Browser Extensions

There are also many programs for downloading tracks and videos to your computer. Among them are VKSaver, VKMusic, LoviVkontakte, VkOpt, etc. But there is a caveat – they will work only for Windows, and macOS users will only have the Videoder program.

But browser extensions are enough to fill this gap. This is one of the easiest and most popular ways to add content download capabilities to VKontakte – such programs are installed directly into the browser, after which they can be turned on and off as needed.

The quality of downloaded files does not suffer normally, but we still recommend checking each of them first with a quick antivirus scan (at least online), and then just to make sure that the file has been downloaded in its entirety and not broken. Some applications may be unstable, while others may be disguised as similar, but with unpleasant “surprises” inside. Moreover, among the extensions of malware and spyware, there can be no less than among the more understandable format of “single window” programs.

Let’s analyze some of them.

VK Saver

This is a free browser extension that is installed using an .exe file downloaded from the developer’s website – or through the application store in a browser such as Chrome.

To download something with it you need:

download the program;

install it on a PC/browser;

refresh the page with VK music in the browser;

An S or a download icon will appear next to each audio and video. Clicking on them will start downloading the file – for this you will be redirected to a separate page.

Of the advantages, you can note the quick installation and easy download process. It does not require any authorization data, it is not blocked by antiviruses, it automatically starts as a background application at the start of the operating system, and does not eat up too many PC resources.

VKMusic

This program only works with audio. In the application itself, you can listen to music online, connect to the built-in Internet radio, view information about the playing track, including while downloading files. In addition, despite the name, this program works not only with VKontakte – it also supports YouTube , RuTube, Vimeo, Smotri, Mail.ru and many other services.

To download a track to a computer, you need to install the program on your computer, and then paste in the appropriate field a link to an audio file or to a playlist in VK . In the second case, all files available for download that can be downloaded as a package will be displayed.

A pleasant moment: this application does not have built-in ads, and the design is concise and convenient. You can download mp3 from VK or even a pack of songs in one click, the search is fast. In addition, you can continue to use it online as a player and create your own playlists there.

vkopt

Another browser extension that supports downloading a large number of files. When installed in the browser, the “download” option appears as an icon next to each audio recording.

In addition, the application can clean the VK interface from advertising banners and helps to customize the visual display of some social network design elements.

videoder

The only program that works for macOS. There is both a mobile app and a PC version. After installation, it is built directly into the browser.

Pros of videoder:

downloading multiple songs/videos in a batch;

fast download,

video minimization,

download full playlists,

beautiful themes;

the ability to download videos also from YouTube , Facebook*, Instagram*, Vimeo, Dailymotion and many other

multimedia sites;

choice of quality from 144p to 4K;

convert any video to mp3 audio format.

SaveFromNet

An extension for the Google Chrome browser, which is easy to find in the official extension store. Installed as an extension icon in the upper right corner, upon activation, you need to reload the page from which you plan to download music or video – the download icon should appear next to them or in the description.

How to download a video from VKontakte using a downloader site

A relatively simple, convenient and free way to download videos from BK or music is to use special download sites. They do not require the installation of any programs and work on all gadgets except for very old versions of the OS. For example, if you have an iPhone with iOS 12 and below, you will have to additionally install the My FileManager app. And for new versions of the iPhone and iPad, just use the Safari browser – other browsers on Apple devices do not allow you to download videos from the Web.

To download a video from VK through a downloader site, follow these steps:

copy the link to the video;

go to the site of any of these web downloaders: GetVideo.at, Video Grabber, Videodownloader.so, VK Downloader,

Savevk, BitDownloader, Downloadvideosfrom;

paste the previously copied link into the text field.

click on the download button;

if prompted, select video quality.

Sometimes these sites do not download content, but only open the video in a separate tab, from where you can already download it by right-clicking on it (long pressing on the video) and choosing “Save As” / “Download Video”. On the iPhone or iPad, in this case, you will have to return to the page with the download button, hold it with a long tap and select “Download file from the link” from the drop-down menu.

However, downloader sites should be checked especially carefully, be sure to look for reviews about the chosen one and never use them without active antivirus enabled. The fact is that this format is the easiest way to disguise a phishing site.

In addition, the lion’s share of such services, when used, will require you to log in through VK and provide the program with some unthinkable number of permissions. Read carefully what is asked of you: if, in addition to the audio and video on the page, this is access to contacts, passwords and other information that you cannot directly relate to the purpose of the site, leave and look for another option.

Many of these sites have a common but significant disadvantage. If you have a private VKontakte profile, you won’t be able to download anything from your playlist.

We have tried to shared some of the working methods for fulfilling the requirement of our readers regarding how to download video from VK.