A Simple Free Tool to Download Social Media Videos for Personal Use

Hi HN — I built a small web tool that extracts downloadable video files from public social media links (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, X, etc.). It’s free to use and designed primarily for creators who want a quick, no-login way to back up their own content or grab clips for fair-use editing.

What it does • Paste a public post URL → returns a direct video download (MP4) or a high-quality stream link. • It's free;No optional credit/subscription tiers for heavy use. • Server-side fetching to avoid CORS issues and to provide stable downloadable URLs. • Lightweight: designed to handle single-file downloads and short clips; large files handled as links rather than uploads.

Why I built it • I was tired of screen-recording or chasing platform-specific quirks when I needed my own content or short clips for editing. • Wanted something minimal and fast that creators could rely on without installing CLI tools.

Important: legal & ethical note • The tool only works with public posts and is intended for personal backups and legitimate editing (fair use / creator-owned content). Please respect platform terms of service and copyright law — don’t use it to redistribute or claim others’ copyrighted works. If you’re unsure, ask the content owner or rely on platform-provided download features.

If you’re interested in trying it out or giving feedback: https://nanobananas.site (demo). I’d appreciate any technical feedback — performance, edge cases, or suggestions for safer defaults.

Happy to answer questions about implementation (fetch strategy, link signing, rate-limiting) — I can share more details if it’s useful.

— ray sun