How to Save Videos to Your iPhone Camera Roll With a Shortcut
On an iPhone, saving a video from social media usually means copying a link, opening a website and tapping through several screens. The PullDL shortcut turns that into two taps from the Share Sheet and puts the file directly in your Photos app.
Step by step
Add the shortcut
Open the shortcut page on your iPhone and tap Add to Apple Shortcuts. Confirm in the Shortcuts app.
Find a public post
Open a public video or photo in TikTok, Instagram, X, Facebook, Reddit or Safari.
Tap Share, then PullDL
If PullDL is not in the list, scroll to the end, tap More and switch it on.
Allow the permissions
The first run asks to connect to api.pulldl.com and to save to Photos. Choose Always Allow and Allow.
Open Photos
The file is in the Recents album a few seconds later.
What happens when you tap the shortcut
Apple's Share Sheet hands the shortcut the link of the post you are viewing. The shortcut sends that link to the PullDL service, which finds the media on the public page and replies with a status, a list of direct download links and a note on where the file should be saved. The shortcut then downloads the files to your phone and saves them to Photos, or to Files when the result is audio only.
If the service cannot find a downloadable file, the shortcut can open a web page for that link instead, so you still end up with a way forward rather than an unexplained failure. The shortcut file on your phone does not change when PullDL improves, so the address it talks to stays fixed and the service keeps supporting it.
Shortcut or website: which should you use
Both reach the same result, but they suit different habits.
- Use the shortcut when you save videos often and want to stay in the app you are browsing. It needs two taps and puts the file straight into Photos.
- Use the website when you are on a computer, or when you want to choose a particular quality or format before saving.
- On an iPhone, a download from a website normally lands in the Files app first, and you then have to save it to Photos yourself. The shortcut skips that step.
Which links work
The shortcut needs a link to one specific post, not to a profile, a feed or a search page. In most apps the Share button on the post offers a Copy Link choice, and the shortcut accepts that link from the clipboard. Only content visible to anyone without logging in can be saved, because the service has no access to your account. Posts that are private, deleted, age-restricted or limited to followers will fail.
The full list of platforms and what each supports is on the supported sites page. Support depends on each platform's pages, and platforms change them without notice, so a site that worked last month can occasionally need an update.
Some posts contain more than one video or photo, such as an Instagram carousel or a Reddit gallery. The service returns a list of download links, so check Photos for more than one new item after a run. Expect a longer wait for large files, because the whole file must download to the phone before it is saved, and keep the screen on and the Shortcuts app in the foreground until the Photos notification appears.
A short troubleshooting sequence
If a save fails, work through these checks in order. Most problems are fixed by one of the first three.
- Confirm the post is public by opening the link in a private browser tab that is not logged in.
- Make sure you shared a link to the post itself rather than a profile or a story page.
- Check you are connected to the internet and that Low Data Mode or a restrictive VPN is not blocking the request.
- Open the Shortcuts app, run PullDL once, and confirm that network and Photos permissions are set to Always Allow.
- Use the PullDL website for that link as a fallback, and check that your iOS version is up to date.
Tips for better results
- Copy the link instead if you prefer: copy it, open the shortcut from the Shortcuts app and it reads the clipboard.
- Audio-only results are saved as files rather than photos.
- Only public content can be saved. Private accounts and protected videos will not work.
- If you would rather see how it works, the shortcut page also explains how to build it yourself.
If something goes wrong
It says Photos requires Face ID
On recent iOS versions tap Unlock Action once and approve with Face ID. This lets Shortcuts save to Photos.
Nothing is saved and there is no error
Check that you are online (not in Airplane Mode) and that you allowed the network and Photos permissions on the first run.
The shortcut will not install
Use the Add to Apple Shortcuts button on the PullDL shortcut page. Shortcut files downloaded from elsewhere often fail because Apple only installs signed shortcuts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about How to Save Videos to Your iPhone Camera Roll With a Shortcut.