How to download videos from X, previously Twitter

X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, lets users download videos from its website. This feature has been live since August 2023, when Twitter owner Elon Musk personally announced the feature via — how else? — an X post. Before you attempt to download the first video you see in your feed, though, know that there are a few limitations in place. First, the creator must explicitly allow downloads for the content they post. (That means, try as you might, you won't be able to download Engadget videos. Sorry.)

Also, as you might expect, given Elon Musk's push for paid subscribers, the ability to save videos from the website is only available to verified users — i.e., mainly people who pay for a Blue subscription.

A verified user can download content by tapping the ellipsis (…) menu on the upper right corner of the screen when a video is in full screen mode. Musk also said that X will soon make it easy to download videos on mobile simply by tapping and holding the content on the screen.

Previously, people have had to use to third-party websites and apps to be able to save videos. Of course, non-paying users still have to use those tools if they want to download content from X. That doesn't come as a surprise, seeing as the company has been releasing new features specifically for paying members while making the website less usable for the rest of its userbase. It announced in July that it will limit the number of DMs non-paying users can send to address its spam issues, and it also previously limited the number of posts non-verified users can see to 600 a day.

Meanwhile, X gave verified users the ability to publish posts with up to 25,000 characters and allowed them to post videos up to three hours in length. More recently, it also gave Blue subscribers the option to hide their blue checkmark in case they don't want to make it obvious that they're paying for the service. For those interested to see how X has evolved since Elon Musk took over Twitter, company CEO Linda Yaccarino has just published the list of changes it has implemented right here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/x-blue-subscribers-can-now-download-videos-from-the-website-065336710.html?src=rss

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