How to Download Instagram Live Video in 2021 - Definitive Guide

When someone you follow shares a live video, you may get notified to watch the live video on your Instagram app. If you find the live video really amazing, you may want to download Instagram live video for offline viewing. 

However, Instagram does not allow you to download an Instagram live video from someone else. Luckily, there are a few ways to save an Instagram live video on your PC or mobile phone. There are lots of Instagram video downloader can help you download online Instagram videos easily and quickly. But in this definitive guide, I will show you a few tested methods to download the Instagram live video before it expires in 2021, without using downloading tools. 

Your Options for Downloading Instagram Live Video

As you may know, both YouTube and Facebook live videos will also be available for watching when the live streaming ends. However, When an Instagram live video is ended, the Instagramer who started the live video can download the live video to Camera Roll or share it as an Instagram Story.

Once the live video is shared as an Instagram story, you can download the live video in full as the best quality available, but you still cannot use the regular methods for downloading Instagram stories to download an Instagram live video story. As you may already know the Instagram story is only available in 24 hours, so have to do it in time if you want to save the live video using the methods below. 

In case the Instagramer does not want to share the live video to the Instagram story, you can also download Instagram live video when streaming by recording it. 

Warm Note: Many people downloading Instagram live videos are for own preference or commercial use. If you prefer saving more live videos on Instagram, it is favorable to get free Instagram followers which can be considered as a repository of live videos. Then checking your own followers now and getting more for free.

Download Instagram Live Video by Screen Recording

Depending on the device you use, you can choose the method accordingly to save Instagram live video on your smartphone. This method is easy and straightforward whether you use Android or iOS. The only problem you may face is buffering, so make sure your network is steady before you start recording.

Recording Instagram Live on Android

Some Android phones have a built-in screen recorder feature that you can use to record Instagram Live. You just need to enable it.  For example, Samsung and LG smartphones running Android 10 provide a screen recorder feature. You can just swipe down from the top of your screen to find the “Screen Recorder” from the Quick Setting menu. You may need to swipe down twice or swipe left to the second page or third page to find it.

For other phones, you can download a free app from Google Play Store to record the screen. I recommend  AZ Screen Recorder. It’s very easy to use, yet very powerful. Once you enable the recording, it overlays a button for quick control that doesn’t interfere with the recorded content. 

After you finish recording Instagram live video, you can also shave away the parts that don’t matter with the small Instagram video editor built-in. 

It doesn’t require root permission and has no watermarks when you export the video. You can use the free version with ads or update to the paid version for $2.99. Of course, there are other screen recorder app you can use for free. 

Recording Instagram Live on iOS

If your iPhone or iPad is running iOS 11 or higher, you can use the built-in feature to record streaming. If you have enabled this feature, you can find it in Control Center for quick access. If you cannot find the option in Control Center, you can navigate to  the Settings > Control Center > Customize Controls > Screen Recording. From there, you can add Screen Recording to Control Center. 

After that, when someone starts Instagram Live, you can swipe up from the bottom of your iPhone screen and tap on Screen Recording from Control Center to start recording it. A screen recording button will also appear and then you can tap on the button when the live has ended. 

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Download Instagram Live Video Directly without Recording

When someone shares the ended live video to Instagram story, his or her followers will see the live video appear in the story section in the Instagram app. You cannot see the live video story if you log in to Instagram in a web browser. 

You probably know a few methods to download Instagram stories. For example, you can use Story Saver for Instagram app to download stories on Android.  However, these methods no longer work with Instagram live video stories. 

Therefore, you will need to take a different approach to get it downloaded. You can refer to the steps below to save Instagram Live video on your computer. 

Step 1. Install IG Stories for Instagram Chrome Extension, which allows you to download and view Instagram stories easily. You can choose other Chrome extensions as long as you can watch the Instagram Live video story on your web browser. 

Step 2. Once you get this extension installed, refresh the Instagram page and then you will be able to see the Live video story above your Instagram Feed. Just click on the Live video that you want to download. 

Step 3. In a tab, you can watch the Instagram Live video on your computer. 

For macOS, you can click the Download button, and then you will need to download the video and audio separately. After that, you can use iMovie to combine the video and audio together. 

For Windows. When you right click on the video, you will see the “Save Video as” option is grayed out, so you can select “Inspect “ instead. You can also Press “F12” for Windows  or “Option + Command + I” for macOS. 

Step 4. When the Developer Tools window appears, click on the “Network” tab and then select “All”. 

Step 5. If nothing appears, Reload this page and make sure the video is playing. Then sort all results by size. Usually, the video download link will appear at the top unless the video is really short. 

Step 6. Double click on the video result that contains “.mp4” to open it in a new tab. From there, you can right-click and select “Save Video As” to download the Instagram Live video to your computer. 

This method may seem a little complicated, but it works all the time. Previously, I could use a Chrome extension called Chrome IG Story Pro to download Instagram Live video directly but was removed from Chrome Extension Store recently. This may be the only way to download Instagram Live video on a computer. For mobile devices, you can only try the recording method.