Instagram Downloader for iPhone
Download Instagram Videos on iPhone — No App Needed
DLGram works directly in Safari and other browsers on iPhone and iPad. Download Instagram videos, reels, photos and carousels without installing any app. Free, fast and secure.
Step 1 — Copy the Instagram Link
Open the Instagram app on your iPhone. Find the post, reel or video you want to save. Tap the three-dot menu (⋯) and choose "Copy link".
Step 2 — Open DLGram in Safari
Open Safari on your iPhone and go to dlgram.org. Tap the input field and paste the link, or tap the Paste button.
Step 3 — Download and Save
Tap the Download button. On iPhone, the file will be saved to your Files app (Downloads folder). You can then move it to your Photos app from there.
Save Video to iPhone Photos
After downloading to Files app, open the Files app → Downloads → find the MP4 file → tap and hold → select "Save to Photos". The video will appear in your camera roll.
The two-step route surprises people who expect a download to land in Photos directly, but it is how iOS is designed. Safari writes downloads into the Files app, and only you can move something into your photo library — a website is never allowed to write there. Once the file is in Photos it behaves like anything you filmed yourself: it syncs to iCloud if that is enabled, it can be edited in the Photos app, and it can be deleted from Downloads afterwards to avoid keeping two copies.
Finding the file quickly: open Files, tap Browse at the bottom, then Downloads under On My iPhone. Sorting that folder by Date puts your newest download at the top, which saves scrolling if you download often.
When Safari Plays the Video Instead of Downloading It
This is the most common iPhone complaint, and it is Safari doing what it thinks you want. An MP4 is something Safari can play, so sometimes it opens the video full-screen in a player rather than saving it. Nothing has failed — the file simply went to the screen instead of to storage.
The fix is to be explicit. Long-press the Download button instead of tapping it, and pick "Download Linked File" from the menu that appears. That tells Safari to save rather than open, and a small download arrow appears next to the address bar showing progress. Tap that arrow to jump straight to the finished file.
If the video is already playing full-screen, do not panic — close the player, go back, and use the long-press. Trying to save from inside the player usually only offers a share sheet, which is a slower route to the same place.
The Paste Button and the iOS Clipboard Restriction
The Paste button reads your clipboard so you do not have to. On iPhone it may do nothing at all, and that is an iOS rule rather than a bug. Apple restricts websites from reading clipboard contents, because the clipboard frequently holds passwords, addresses and one-time codes. Depending on your iOS version and settings, the request is either silently refused or hidden behind a confirmation you never see.
Work around it in two seconds: long-press the input field and choose Paste from the iOS menu that pops up. That is your own action rather than the site's, so iOS allows it without question. The link goes in and everything proceeds normally.
If the menu does not offer Paste, the clipboard is empty — go back to Instagram, tap the three-dot menu and choose Copy link again. Switching apps too many times in between can also clear it on older devices.
Add DLGram to Your Home Screen
For one-tap access, Safari can place an icon on your home screen. Open the site, tap the Share button (the square with an upward arrow), scroll down and choose "Add to Home Screen", then confirm the name.
The icon sits alongside your apps and opens the site directly, without the address bar in the way. It is not an installed application: nothing comes from the App Store, no permissions are granted, nothing runs in the background, and dragging the icon to the bin removes it completely. For a tool used a few times a week, that is exactly the right amount of commitment.
On iPad and in Split View
Everything above applies unchanged on iPadOS. The one genuine improvement on a larger screen is Split View: put Instagram on one side and Safari on the other, and copying a link no longer means switching apps back and forth. Copy in Instagram, tap across, long-press the field, paste — all without leaving the screen you are on.
The page layout adapts to whatever width the Safari pane happens to be, so a narrow Slide Over panel still shows the input field, the download buttons with their file sizes, and the quality selector. On iPad, downloads follow the same path as on iPhone: into the Files app, then long-press → Save to Photos if you want the video in your library.
No Shortcuts, No Profiles, No App Store
Many iPhone guides for saving Instagram videos tell you to install a Shortcut, grant it permission to run untrusted automations, and then run it from the share sheet. None of that is necessary here. This is a plain web page: you open it, paste a link, and press a button.
The practical differences matter. A Shortcut breaks whenever Instagram changes its page structure, and stays broken until its author publishes a new version that you then have to reinstall. It also requires you to loosen a security setting so that unsigned automations may run — a permission worth being cautious with. A website is fixed on the server, so the version you load is always the working one, and nothing about your phone's configuration changes.
There is also no file-size ceiling to worry about, which is where Telegram-based downloader bots run into trouble: they are capped at 20 MB for files sent by link, so a long Reel simply fails. Here, files larger than roughly 40 MB are handed to Safari's own download manager rather than held in memory, so a big video downloads in the background while you do something else.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does DLGram work on iPad?
Yes. DLGram works on all iOS and iPadOS devices — iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, including in Split View.
Do I need to install an app on iPhone?
No. DLGram works entirely in Safari — no App Store download needed.
Do I need a Shortcut?
No. Shortcuts are not involved at all. Pasting a link into Safari is the entire process.
Why does the video open in Safari instead of downloading?
On iOS, tap and hold the Download button, then select "Download Linked File" from the menu that appears.
Why does the Paste button not respond?
iOS blocks websites from reading the clipboard. Long-press the input field and use the iOS Paste command instead.
Where do downloaded files go?
To Downloads in the Files app. Long-press the file there and choose "Save to Photos" to put a video in your camera roll.
Can I add it to my home screen?
Yes. Safari Share → Add to Home Screen. It is a bookmark, not an installed app.
Does it work in Split View on iPad?
Yes. The layout adapts to narrow panes, so Instagram and DLGram can sit side by side.
Can I download Instagram Reels on iPhone?
Yes. See our Reels download guide for full instructions.