How do I rip a video from LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is a popular social media platform used by professionals to network, build their personal brand, and share content. With over 850 million users worldwide, there is a ton of great video content on LinkedIn that you may want to download for your own purposes. However, LinkedIn does not make it easy to directly download or “rip” videos from their platform. In this guide, we’ll explain why LinkedIn videos can be difficult to download, the legalities involved, and provide step-by-step instructions on how to rip videos from LinkedIn using third-party tools and workarounds.

Why Can’t I Easily Download LinkedIn Videos?

There are a few reasons why LinkedIn does not allow users to easily download videos:

• Copyright Protection – Most videos on LinkedIn are copyrighted material. LinkedIn wants to protect the intellectual property rights of the content creators.
• Prevent Misuse – By making videos hard to download, LinkedIn reduces the likelihood of videos being reused without permission, avoiding potential legal issues.
• Promote Platform Lock-In – LinkedIn wants to keep users engaged on their platform instead of taking the content elsewhere.

Essentially, LinkedIn is trying to balance the sharing of professional videos with the need to protect copyrights. This means they need to have some “friction” in the downloading process to discourage misuse.

Is It Legal to Download LinkedIn Videos?

The short answer is “it depends.” While downloading videos from LinkedIn is not outright illegal in most cases, there are some important nuances to consider:

• Copyright – You typically need the copyright holder’s permission to reuse or redistribute a video downloaded from LinkedIn.
• Educational Use – Using a short excerpt of a LinkedIn video for educational or commentary purposes may fall under “fair use” protections.
• Personal Use – Downloading a video solely for your own personal viewing may be permissible, but redistribution still requires permission.

The safest approach is to assume all LinkedIn videos are copyrighted and should not be reused without permission. Exceptions may exist for short clips used educationally or for commentary. When in doubt, reach out to the video creator directly.

Method 1: Use a Third-Party “Downloader” Tool

The easiest way to download videos from LinkedIn is to use a dedicated online tool or app. Here are some options:

Online Tools

• Snaptik – Web-based tool that downloads videos from LinkedIn and other social platforms.
• GetFvid – Allows you to paste in any LinkedIn video URL to download the HD version.
• Savido – Supports downloading from 900+ sites including LinkedIn.

Browser Extensions

• VD Professional – Chrome extension for downloading videos.
• Video DownloadHelper – Firefox addon that detects and downloads videos.

Mobile Apps

• Snaptube – Android app for downloading videos from social apps.
• Vidmate – Popular Android video downloader.

These tools and apps can detect and download LinkedIn videos with just the click of a button. However, be mindful of copyrights and educational fair use allowances when reusing the downloaded videos.

Method 2: Use YouTube-DL

YouTube-DL is a popular command-line program that downloads videos from 1000+ websites, including LinkedIn. Here’s how to use it:

1. Install YouTube-DL on your computer if you haven’t already.
2. Right click on the LinkedIn video you want to download and select “Copy video URL.”
3. Open a command prompt or terminal window.
4. Type youtube-dl and paste the video URL, then press Enter.

For example:

youtube-dl https://www.linkedin.com/video/example_video_url

YouTube-DL will begin downloading the best quality version of the video available. The file will be saved to your current directory by default. Overall, YouTube-DL provides a simple way to rip videos from LinkedIn using just the command line.

Method 3: Use a Web Browser

It’s also possible to download videos directly from your web browser without any additional software:

1. Open the LinkedIn video page in Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari.
2. Right click on the video itself and look for an option like “Save Video As.”
3. Choose the desired download location and quality if prompted.
4. The video file will be saved to your computer.

Alternatively, you can press Ctrl+S on your keyboard to bring up the “Save Page As” dialog box. Then change the name to something like “video.mp4” and save it.

This web browser technique relies on the ability to directly access the video file URL. It may not work fully on all browsers or LinkedIn pages.

Method 4: Use a Video Converter

One indirect option is to use a online video converter tool:

1. Copy and paste the LinkedIn video URL into the converter tool.
2. Select MP4 as the output format.
3. Click the convert button to generate a downloadable file.
4. Save the output MP4 video to your computer.

Some good video converter options include:

• Online Video Converter
• Convertio
• Online Converter

Video converters take the extra step of downloading the LinkedIn video and then converting it to a more reusable MP4 format. Quality may be reduced compared to direct downloads.

Best Practices When Downloading

To avoid any concerns around copyright or misuse of downloaded videos, keep these best practices in mind:

• Check the video description for any usage restrictions or prohibitions on downloading.
• Only download videos you have the rights to reuse or that are clearly licensed as Creative Commons.
• Minimize how much of the video you use – short clips are safer for fair use.
• Give proper attribution if you share the video, including links back to the source.
• When in doubt, contact the video creator directly for permission.

With the right approach, you can safely download and repurpose a portion of the great video content on LinkedIn while respecting copyrights.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it illegal to download videos from LinkedIn?

It is not inherently illegal, but you typically need permission from the copyright holder to reuse or redistribute downloaded LinkedIn videos. There are fair use exceptions that may allow brief educational usage without permission.

Can I get in trouble for downloading LinkedIn videos?

You are unlikely to face trouble simply for downloading videos for your own personal use. However, actively redistributing downloads without permission could open you up to DMCA takedown requests or other copyright issues.

Does downloading LinkedIn videos reduce their quality?

Not inherently. Many tools allow you to download LinkedIn videos in their original HD quality if available. However, certain methods like video converters may reduce quality to create a more shareable file.

Is there a way to bulk download all videos from a LinkedIn page?

There is no built-in LinkedIn tool for bulk downloads. However, you can use software like YouTube-DL to download all videos from a profile or feed by iterating through page URLs.

Can I download private LinkedIn videos that require login access?

Unfortunately most LinkedIn downloader tools do not work for private videos that require being logged into LinkedIn to view. So downloading them would likely violate LinkedIn’s terms.