Home » Vimeo » How to Download Private Vimeo Videos (6 Easy Steps)

How to Download Private Vimeo

Videos (6 Easy Steps)
 Lim How Wei  December 16, 2020

Are you looking to download private Vimeo videos?

Downloading private Vimeo videos can be a little tricky as there i s n’ t a d o w n l o a d o p t i o n for

it.

On the other hand, if you want to download a public video on Vimeo, you can click on the
“Download” button to download it.

If you want to download a video that is set to private, there are some additional steps that
you’ll need to take in order to do so.
In this guide, you’ll learn 6 e a s y s t e p s to download a private Vimeo as a .MP4 �le.

By the end of this guide, you can apply the same steps to download private videos on Vimeo in
the future.

How to Download Private Vimeo Videos

To download private vimeo videos, inspect the page, play the video, navigate to network, type
“player”, refresh the page and click on the �rst �le.

Finally, save the �le as a .txt document, copy the .mp4 link, then right-click on the video and
save it.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how you can do this.

1. Inspect the page and play the video

2. Go to network and type “player”

3. Refresh the page and click on the �rst �le

4. Save the �le as a .txt document

5. Copy the .mp4 link

6. Right-click on the video and save it

Step #1: Inspect the page and play the video

Go to the private Vimeo video > right-click anywhere on the page > click on
“Inspect” > play the video for a few seconds (this will load up additional
HTML and CSS �les which will be required later on).

Firstly, go to the private Vimeo video that you want to download on a Chrome browser.

Then, right-click anywhere on the page.

You’ll see several options such as “Back”, “Reload”, and “Inspect”.

The option that you’ll want to be using i s “ I n s p e c t ”.

This function allows you to view the HTML and CSS of a web page, which you’ll need later on.

After you’ve selected “Inspect”, play the video for a few seconds.

This will load up additional H T M L a n d C S S � l e s , which will be required later on as well.

Step #2: Go to network and type “player”

On the top navigation bar of the Inspect element, select “Network”, then
search for “Player”.

Secondly, on the top navigation bar of the Inspect element, you’ll see multiple tabs—Elements,
Console, Sources, Network, etc.

Select the “Network” tab (the forth tab from the left of the top navigation bar).

Once you’re there, t y p e “ p l a y e r ” on the search bar.

There are a lot of HTML and CSS �les, so this is to �lter out the �le that you need to use.

Once you’ve typed “player”, multiple player HTML and CSS �les will show up.

Step #3: Refresh the page and click on the

�rst �le
Important: After you’ve searched for “player” in the Network tab, you need
to refresh the page (this will load up the required HTML �les).

This step is crucial for everything to work.

After you’ve searched for “player” in the previous step, you need to r e f r e s h t h e p a g e .

Otherwise, the HTML �le that you’ll need to be using later on will not load.

After you’ve refreshed your page, a d d i t i o n a l H T M L � l e s will appear.

These �les have numbers as their title (e.g. 393999309, 394000471, 394000590).

Click on the �rst �le that pops up to view it.

Step #4: Save the �le as a .txt document

Save the �le as a .txt document by putting .txt at the back of the �le name (e.g.
393999309.txt).

After you’ve clicked on the �rst �le, you need to save it.

On the right side of the �le, right-click the HTML code and click on “Save as…”.

Then, you need to s a v e t h e � l e a s a . t x t d o c u m e n t .

In order to do so, put .txt at the back of the �le name (e.g. 393999309.txt) and the �le will be
automatically converted into a .txt document.

Once you’ve saved it as a .txt document, you’ll be able to see its HTML code.

Step #5: Copy the .mp4 link

On the Notepad, search for the quality of the video that you want to save it
as (e.g. 720p) using CTRL + F, and copy the .MP4 URL of it.

(search for the quality of the video that you want to download)

Open the .txt �le that you’ve just saved in your respective folder.

Once you’ve opened it, you’ll see a huge chunk of text, which is the HTML code of the �le.

The speci�c text that you’ll want to be looking for is t h e q u a l i t y o f t h e v i d e o (e.g. 480p, 720p,
1080p).

Let’s say that you want to save the video in 720p quality.

On the top navigation bar of the Notepad, you’ll see multiple tabs—File, Edit, Format, View,
and Help.

Click on “Edit”, and c l i c k o n “ F i n d ”.

Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + F.

Type in the quality of the video that you want to save it as (e.g. 720p).

Find the chunk of text that includes the quality of the video (e.g. 720p) and the .MP4 URL.

Example of URL to �nd:

“https://vod-progressive.akamaized.net/exp=1604825182~acl=%2Fvimeo-
prod-sky�re-std-
us%2F01%2F1156%2F17%2F430781346%2F1872225377.mp4”

Highlight t h e . M P 4 U R L , copy it, then proceed to the next step.

Step #6: Right-click on the video and save it

Paste the .MP4 link that you’ve copied in the previous step, right-click on the
video, and save it as a .MP4 �le.

Lastly, p a s t e t h e . M P 4 U R L that you’ve just copied into your browser.

After you’ve done so, the video will appear in the quality that you’ve selected.

Right-click the video, c l i c k o n “ S a v e a s … ” and save it as a .MP4 �le.

You’ve successfully saved the private Vimeo video as a .MP4 �le!

FAQ

Can you download a video from Vimeo?

Yes, you can download a video from Vimeo if it is set to public.

If a video is set to public, there will be an option for you to download the video.

Click the “Download” button to download the video in a .MP4 format.

However, if a video is set to private, there won’t be a download option under the video.
Conclusion
Saving private videos on Vimeo can be a pain because there isn’t a “Download” button on it.

In this article, you’ve learned how to save a private Vimeo video as a .MP4 �le inn 6 s i m p l e
steps.

You can use the same process to save future private videos on Vimeo.

If you want to learn more c o o l t i p s a n d t r i c k s about all things social media, feel free to read
the rest of the blog or click on the links on the “Further Reading” section below.

Further Reading
How to Change Your “For You” Page (FYP) on TikTok

How to Turn on Post Noti�cations on TikTok

What Does “Join” Mean on YouTube?

A u t h o r : Lim How Wei is the founder of Followchain. Feel free to follow him on Instagram.

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About the author

Lim How Wei

Lim How Wei is the founder of followchain.org, with 8+ years of experience in Social
Media Marketing and 4+ years of experience as an active investor in stocks and
cryptocurrencies. He has researched, tested, and written hundreds of articles
ranging from social media platforms to messaging apps.