Built to save videos.Kept free since 2018.
TVDL is a free iOS Shortcut that saves videos from X, Bluesky, and Mastodon straight to your Camera Roll. No ads, no account, and we never store your videos. One person built it to scratch his own itch. Today it runs 80,000+ downloads a day.
I built TVDL because I wanted to save a video, and couldn't. Back in 2018, the only ways to download a clip from Twitter were sketchy websites buried in ads, or apps that wanted half the permissions on my phone. I didn't trust any of them, so I built the thing I actually wanted to use.
Apple had just released the Shortcuts app, and I realized I could make a downloader that lived right inside iOS. No separate app to install, no ads, nothing to sign up for. It saved videos straight to my Camera Roll in a couple of taps. It scratched my own itch so well that I posted it on Twitter and Reddit on a whim.
It took off. It turned out a lot of people wanted exactly what I did: something simple that just worked and didn't try to monetize their attention. Seven years later TVDL is still here, now one of the most reliable ways to download videos from X, and it has grown to cover Bluesky and Mastodon too.
It is still the same idea it started as: no ads, no account, and your videos stay yours. The shortcut you install today does one job and does it well, because it is the one I built for myself, and I still use it every day.
By the numbers
Seven years is a long time for a free tool.
It has outlasted almost everything else.
TVDL has survived every change X has made for seven years. Most downloaders from back then are long gone.
Videos saved every single day.
Not installs, downloads. People reach for TVDL tens of thousands of times a day, every day, across the world.
Ads, accounts, and trackers.
It has never shown an ad or sold data. The only thing it asks for is an email, so it can send you the shortcut.
What TVDL actually is
TVDL is an iOS Shortcut, a small automation that runs inside Apple's Shortcuts app. You share a post to it, and it saves the video to your Camera Roll. There is no app to download and no account to create. It works on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Tap share, pick TVDL.
From X, Bluesky, or Mastodon. Anywhere with a share button, TVDL shows up right in your iOS share sheet.
Choose the size you want.
Best quality for originals, Standard for everyday, Data saver for cellular. Your call, every time.
Open Photos. It is waiting.
The video lands in your Camera Roll at full quality. No watermark, no extra app, no upload.
The honest answers
Why you can trust it
Is TVDL safe?
Yes. The shortcut runs on your phone through Apple’s Shortcuts app. Videos download straight from the source to your Camera Roll, and we never store them. The only thing we keep is the email you use to get the shortcut.
Is it really free?
Yes, and it always will be. The free shortcut has no usage limits. TVDL Pro is an optional upgrade for people who want more reliability and the highest quality, and it funds the free version for everyone else.
Who is behind it?
One independent developer, Saif, who built TVDL in 2018 and has maintained it ever since. No company you have never heard of, no investors to answer to. Just the person who uses it every day.
Is it affiliated with X, Bluesky, or Mastodon?
No. TVDL is independent. It works with the public videos those platforms already let you share, and is not affiliated with X, Bluesky, or the Mastodon project.
Why there's a paid version at all
Every download costs us real money to run. The platforms charge us, and servers are not free. For years TVDL leaned on donations, but most people give once and use the shortcut forever, so that never kept up with the cost.
These days TVDL Pro is how the lights stay on. It adds more reliability and the highest quality for the people who want them, and it keeps the free shortcut free for everyone who doesn't.
See what Pro addsWhat's next
The goal: the most reliable way to save a video.
We want TVDL to be the most reliable way to save a video, on every platform worth supporting. Right now that means X, Bluesky, and Mastodon, and we are actively working on more. The rule stays the same on every one: no ads, no account, and your videos stay yours.
Last updated June 2026.
About TVDL: FAQ
Try the shortcut I built for myself.
Free, and saved straight to your Camera Roll. It takes about two minutes to set up.