How to Download a Bluesky Video on Any Device

To download a Bluesky video, open the post, tap the share icon and choose Copy link to post, then paste the link into a Bluesky video downloader such as our Bluesky downloader and save the MP4. It works on desktop, iPhone and Android with no account, and you get the file the uploader originally posted.

Below are the exact steps for each device, why the downloaded copy can look sharper than what you watched in the app, and what to do when a link does not work.

How video is stored on Bluesky

When someone posts a video, Bluesky keeps two things. The original file is stored with the uploader's account. Bluesky's video service then makes streaming copies, at 360p and 720p on the posts we tested, and the app switches between them depending on your connection.

Our downloader fetches the original rather than a streaming copy. For a clip shot on a recent phone, that usually means 1080p instead of 720p, with clearer text and fine detail. The file is larger as a result, often several times the size of the 720p stream, so pick your moment on mobile data.

Downloading a Bluesky video on a computer

1. Open the post on bsky.app. Click the post text or the timestamp so it opens on its own page.
2. Copy the address from the browser bar. It looks like bsky.app/profile/name.bsky.social/post/ followed by a short code.
3. Go to the Bluesky video downloader, paste the link and press Download.
4. Click the Original option. The MP4 is saved to your Downloads folder.

Downloading a Bluesky video on iPhone

1. In the Bluesky app, tap the share icon under the post and choose Copy link to post.
2. Open Safari and go to the Bluesky downloader. Paste the link and tap Download.
3. Tap the Original option, then Download when Safari asks.
4. The video is in the Files app, in Downloads. To move it into Photos, open it, tap the share icon and choose Save Video.

If you cannot find the file, our guide on where downloaded videos go on iPhone covers Safari's download settings and the Files app in detail.

Downloading a Bluesky video on Android

1. In the Bluesky app, tap the share icon and choose Copy link to post.
2. Open Chrome, go to the Bluesky downloader, paste the link and tap Download.
3. Tap the Original option. Chrome saves the MP4 to your Downloads folder.
4. It shows up in Google Photos or your gallery shortly after. If not, open the Files app and look in Downloads.

Getting the right link

The part of the link that matters is the post code at the end, after /post/. A few link types trip people up:

• A profile link stops at the username. It points at an account, not a video, so open the post first.
• A quote post shows someone else's post inside it. If the video belongs to the quoted post, tap it to open the original and copy that link instead.
• Links from third party Bluesky apps may use their own web address. Open the post in the official app or on bsky.app and copy the link there.
• Handles with custom domains, such as bsky.app/profile/nytimes.com/post/..., work exactly like normal handles.

Posts that have no video to download

Some posts look like they contain video but do not store one on Bluesky:

• GIFs added with the GIF button are links to Tenor, a separate GIF service. The animation is not uploaded to Bluesky, so there is nothing on Bluesky to save.
• Link cards for news sites, blogs or other platforms show a preview image, not a video file. Copy the original link from the card and use the matching downloader, such as the Twitter video downloader for a shared X post.
• Posts with several images are photos, not video. Open an image and save it directly from your browser or the app.

When the video has no sound

Two things cause this. First, the Bluesky feed plays video muted until you tap the speaker, which is a player setting rather than anything in the file. Second, some clips genuinely have no audio track, such as screen recordings made without sound. In our testing, one of three sample posts had no audio in the original file, so it is not rare.

Check the post in the app with the sound turned on. If it is silent there, the file will be silent too, and no tool can add audio that was never recorded. Our guide to downloaded videos with no sound goes through the other causes.

Respecting people's choices

Bluesky has no private accounts. Everything posted is public, which is why downloading works without logging in. Some people, though, switch on a setting that asks apps not to show their posts to logged-out visitors. That setting is a request rather than a lock, and we would ask you to honour it: if someone has turned it on, do not download and repost their videos.

More generally, saving a public video to watch later is personal use. Reposting someone's video elsewhere, especially without credit, is where copyright and basic courtesy come in. Share the original post when you can.

After you download

The file is a standard MP4 with H.264 video and, where the post had sound, AAC audio. It plays in every phone gallery, desktop player and browser, and opens in CapCut, iMovie, Premiere or DaVinci Resolve without converting. Vertical clips stay vertical, so they are ready for Reels or TikTok if you have the rights to repost them.

If you save videos regularly, rename each one as it arrives. The default name comes from the post text, which may be long, cut off or empty. Something like the account name and the date takes a few seconds and makes the file easy to find months later. And if you want to save several videos from a thread, open each post separately and run its link through the Bluesky downloader one at a time.