Public vs Private Videos: What You Can Save

The Golden Rule of Archiving

When using tools like GramSave, or indeed any digital tool that interacts with social media, there is one technical and ethical distinction that supersedes all others: the difference between Public and Private content.

What Makes a Video "Public"?

A video is considered "Public" in the context of social media archiving if it meets the following criteria:

• Global Access: Anyone with the URL can view it without being logged in.
• Searchable: It can appear in search engines (Google) or the platform's own "Explore" or "For You" pages.
• Creator Intent: The user has explicitly set their profile or post privacy settings to "Everyone."

Examples of public content include viral TikTok trends, Instagram Reels from verified creators, news reports on Facebook Watch, and official posts from educational institutions.

What Makes a Video "Private"?

A video is private if access is restricted by the creator. This includes:

• Locked Profiles: You must send a "Follow Request" and be approved to see their content.
• Friends Only: On Facebook, posts that are only visible to "Friends."
• Direct Messages (DM): Videos sent privately between users.
• Close Friends: Instagram Stories shared only with a specific list.
• Private Groups: Content inside a Facebook group that requires membership.

Technical Limitations Explained

Users often ask, "Why can't I allow GramSave to log in to my account so I can save my friend's private video?"

The answer is security. To access a Private video, the requester must have a valid session token (a digital key) proving they are authorized to see it. For a third-party tool to download that video, you would have to give that tool your session token (or password). This is a massive security risk. It allows the tool potential control over your entire account.

GramSave creates a direct link between your browser (which might have permission) and the public asset. We do not act as a "middleman" proxy for restricted content because we do not want—and do not have—authorization to see that content.

The Ethical Line

Beyond the technical hurdles, there is a profound ethical reason to respect privacy settings. Privacy is about consent.

If a user sets their profile to "Private," they have made a deliberate choice to limit their audience. They are consenting to share their life with 100 friends, not the entire internet. Using hacked tools or screen recorders to bypass this restriction and then saving or sharing that content is a violation of their trust and consent.

In many jurisdictions, accessing data you are not authorized to see leads to legal trouble under unauthorized access statutes (like the CFAA in the US). Even if not illegal, it is deeply unethical.

Summary

When archiving content for your research or educational needs, check the lock icon. If the content is out in the open, feel free to save a copy for your reference. If the creator has put it behind a wall, respect that wall. Digital citizenship requires us to treat online spaces with the same courtesy as physical ones.