How MediaGrab Works

A transparent look at what happens when you use MediaGrab to download media — from the moment you paste a link to the file arriving on your device.

Step-by-Step Process

Paste a Public URL

Copy a link to a publicly accessible video, audio clip, or image from any supported platform (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, etc.) and paste it into the MediaGrab input field. You can also paste multiple URLs (one per line) for batch processing.

MediaGrab automatically detects the platform and adjusts its extraction strategy accordingly.

Metadata Extraction

Our backend server analyzes the URL and extracts metadata: the title, thumbnail, duration, available quality levels, and format options. This happens server-side using open-source extraction tools like yt-dlp.

The metadata is returned to your browser so you can preview the content and choose your preferred quality and format before downloading.

Choose Quality & Format

Select from the available options. Depending on the platform and content, you may see video resolutions (360p, 720p, 1080p, 4K), audio-only options (MP3 128kbps, 320kbps, M4A), or image downloads.

Not all quality levels are available for every piece of content — MediaGrab shows only what the source platform actually provides.

Server-Side Processing

When you click download, the backend fetches the media from the source platform, performs any necessary processing (such as merging separate video and audio streams, or converting audio to MP3), and prepares the file for transfer.

All processing uses temporary files that are automatically deleted immediately after the download completes or if the connection is interrupted.

File Saved to Your Device

The processed file streams directly from the server to your browser. On supported browsers, you'll see a native "Save As" dialog. Otherwise, the file downloads automatically to your default downloads folder.

Download progress is shown in real time when the file size is known.

Browser vs. Server Processing

In Your Browser (Client-Side)

Theme and display preferences (localStorage)
Download history (localStorage only — never sent to our servers)
Settings configuration
Receiving and saving the downloaded file

On Our Server (Transient)

URL analysis and metadata extraction
Media stream fetching from source platforms
Audio/video merging and format conversion
Streaming the result to your browser
Automatic cleanup of all temporary files

Supported Media Types

🎬 Video

MP4, WebM — available resolutions depend on the source (up to 4K where available). Video and audio tracks are merged automatically.

🎵 Audio

MP3 (128kbps, 320kbps), M4A, Opus — extracted from video sources or from audio-only platforms like Spotify and SoundCloud.

🖼️ Images

JPG, PNG, WebP — from platforms that host image content such as Instagram posts, Pinterest pins, and Reddit image posts.

Limitations & What MediaGrab Cannot Do

Private or login-required content — MediaGrab can only access publicly available media. Content behind login walls, age gates, paywalls, or private accounts is not supported.
DRM-protected content — MediaGrab does not circumvent Digital Rights Management (DRM) or any form of copy protection.
Live streams — Currently, live or ongoing broadcasts cannot be captured.
Platform restrictions — Some platforms actively block or limit third-party access. MediaGrab respects these restrictions.
Very long videos — Downloads may time out for extremely long videos (several hours). Shorter content works best.

Privacy & Data Handling

MediaGrab does not store your download history on our servers, does not require user accounts, and does not track your activity. Temporary files created during processing are purged immediately. For full details, see our Privacy Policy.

Ready to try it? Go to MediaGrab →

Questions? Check our FAQ or Contact us.