How to Download YouTube Shorts
A YouTube Short is a normal YouTube video with a different URL, so it downloads the same way. Copy the link, paste it into FastSaver's YouTube downloader, pick a quality (or flip the audio-only toggle if you just want the MP3), and download. There's no app to install and no account to make; the whole thing takes about fifteen seconds in whatever browser you already use.
The steps
- Copy the Shorts link. While the Short is playing in the app, tap the Share arrow on the right side of the screen, then Copy link. On desktop, copy the URL straight from the address bar; it looks like youtube.com/shorts/ followed by a video ID.
- Open fastsaver.io. Any browser is fine: Safari on iPhone, Chrome on Android, whatever you use on your computer. Nothing to install, nothing to sign up for.
- Paste the link. Tap the input box and paste, or hit the paste button to do it in one tap. FastSaver spots that it's a YouTube link on its own, so don't edit anything.
- Pick a quality, or switch to audio. The picker shows the resolutions YouTube actually has for that clip; most Shorts top out at 1080p. Turn on the audio-only toggle instead if you just want the sound as an MP3.
- Hit download. The file saves with a proper filename. On Android and desktop it lands in your Downloads folder; on iPhone it goes to the Files app.
Getting it into Photos on iPhone
Safari doesn't drop videos straight into your camera roll. While the file transfers you'll see a small download arrow at the top of the browser. Once it's done, open the video in the Files app, tap the Share icon, and choose Save Video. Now it sits in Photos with the rest of your clips. If you get stuck anywhere in that dance, saving videos on iPhone and Android walks through it in more detail.
Quality and format
Shorts are vertical 9:16 videos and the downloaded file keeps that exact shape. Nothing gets cropped or rotated. On a phone it plays full-screen like it was shot there; on a desktop player you'll see black bars on the sides, which is normal for vertical video.
Don't expect 4K from most of them, though. Shorts are usually uploaded at 1080p, and plenty of older or reposted ones only exist at 720p. If a resolution isn't in the picker, YouTube simply doesn't store it for that video, so no downloader can produce it.
Regular youtube.com/watch links work in the same box too, so if someone sent you a Short as a watch link, paste it as-is. The audio-only toggle also works on full-length videos; converting YouTube to MP3 covers that side properly.
Private or members-only Shorts won't work, and neither will live streams or anything that's been deleted. Quick test: if the Short doesn't play in an incognito window, FastSaver can't reach it either.
Frequently asked questions
- Do Shorts links work like regular YouTube links?
- Yes. A Short is a standard YouTube video with a youtube.com/shorts/ URL, and FastSaver handles both formats the same way.
- Can I save just the audio from a Short?
- Yes. Turn on the audio-only toggle before downloading and you get an MP3 instead of a video file.
- Why is my downloaded Short only 720p?
- That’s the best copy YouTube has for that clip. FastSaver can only offer the resolutions that actually exist on YouTube’s side.
- Is it legal to download YouTube Shorts?
- Saving a Short for personal offline viewing is generally fine. Reposting someone else’s video or using it commercially without permission is not.