Last updated on March 11th, 2024 at 10:22 am

Today, I am going to show you how I downloaded a private Vimeo video in 10 seconds.

And I was able to do this without using any tool (software, Chrome extension, or a video downloader)

In this tutorial, I’ll show you the entire process of downloading that I used…Step-by-Step.

The Problem

As a student, I have to attend a lot of online lectures and the weird thing about these videos is that they expire as soon as the lecture is over.

So while revising the notes it used to be quite tough for me as I always needed some clarifications regarding certain key points.

The first thing I tried was, record the screen but that was a tedious job and my mobile battery would drain after recording three lectures in a day.

Also, I didn’t want to download those spammy video downloaders as they collect personal data.

Screen recording is also a good option but here’s what I saw: When I recorded the video in 1080p using a screen recorder, the file size was 2.52 GB and when I downloaded the same video in 1080p, the file size was just 990 MB. So downloading the video is always a better option.

So one fine morning, I decided to solve this problem (my friends were also facing the same problem). I took this challenge and after 3 hours of looking into the source code, I found a fully working way to download the videos!

Disclaimer: Always ask for permission to download the videos from your lecturer.

The Solution!!

The solution to the problem was in fact simple, just find the video URL from the correct file and paste the URL in your browser to save the video. You can also select the quality of the video before you download it.

You can also follow the same steps to download private Vimeo video with password.

The steps are super-easy to follow and you just need a browser to download Vimeo videos.

How To Download Private Vimeo Videos in 10 seconds

Here’s how to download private Vimeo videos:

1. Right-click anywhere on the page and select “Inspect”
2. Select the “Sources” tab
3. Reload the page
4. Search for the 9-digit numbered file
5. Expand “player.vimeo.com”
6. Expand the “video” folder
7. Right-click on the link and select “Save as…”
8. Save the file as a “.txt” file
9. Press Cmd+F (Mac) or Ctrl+F (Win) for the search box
10. Search for the desired video quality (Eg. 1080p)
11. Copy the URL ending with “.mp4”
12. Paste it in your browser and press enter
13. Right-click on the video and select “Save video as…”

1. Right-click anywhere on the page and select “Inspect”

We’ll find the direct URL from the source code, right-click anywhere on the page and select “Inspect”. You can click anywhere on the page.

2. Select the “Sources” tab

The next step is to find the “Sources” tab and select it. This will show all the list of files. If you don’t see the “Sources” tab, click on the >> button, this will reveal the “Sources” tab.

3. Reload the page

Reload the page, sometimes the files don’t show up so it is better to refresh the page.

4. Search for the 9-digit numbered file

The 9-digit file basically has all the URLs in it. Refresh the page if you don’t see the file.

5. Expand “player.vimeo.com”

Once you successfully find the 9-digit numbered file, expand it and then expand the next folder, “player.vimeo.com”

6. Expand the “video” folder

After expanding, you’ll see a second folder labeled “video”.

7. Right-click on the link and select “Save as…”

Righ-click on the file and select “Save as..”. The file basically has all the download links.

8. Save the file as a “.txt” file

Save the file as a “.txt” file so that your text editor can read it. I am using Notepad in this tutorial, you can use your favorite text editor. Any text editor will do!

9. Press Cmd+F (Mac) or Ctrl+F (Win) for the search box

It is finally time to find the URL hidden inside this text file. The process can be tiresome if you manually search the URL. To solve this we’ll be using the “search” function to find the URL. Press CMD+F (Mac) or Ctrl+F (Windows) for the search box to pop out.

10. Search for the desired video quality (Eg. 1080p)

I’ll be downloading the video in 1080p so I’ll type “1080” in the search box. You can enter your desired video quality. Make sure the video is available in 1080p before entering the quality into the search box.

11. Copy the URL ending with “.mp4”

Keep clicking the “Next” button on the search box until you find a URL ending with “.mp4”. Now there are around 5 video qualities available and since we’ll be downloading the video in 1080p so make sure the video link (ending with .mp4 extension) has a label under it that looks like this: quality”:”1080p”. This means we found the correct download link.

12. Paste it in your browser and press enter

Now it’s time to open the copied URL so that the video loads up.

13. Right-click on the video and select “Save video as…”

Let the video play for 2-3 seconds and then right-click on the video and select “Save video as…”. Rename the video if you want to and click on the “Save” button to start the download. This will immediately start the download. The video will be saved at your default download location.

the CONCLUSION

That’s all there is to it. That’s how I downloaded private Vimeo videos. You can also download embedded Vimeo videos from a website using the same trick.

I’d also like to hear from you: were you able to download your lectures using this method? Leave a comment and let me know.

Know how to download a private Vimeo video in 10 seconds!

FAQs

Which browser are you using?

I’m using the Chrome browser in the video tutorial.

How to download Vimeo videos from a website?

You can use the same method to download embedded Vimeo videos. You can also email me the link, I’ll help you with the download link 🙂

How do I download a private Vimeo video?

Find the video URL from the correct file and paste the URL into your browser to save the video. Follow the above-listed 11 steps or watch the video tutorial.

Can Vimeo videos be downloaded?

Yes, you can download Vimeo videos. You can click on the download button or if the video is private you can follow my 11 steps to download private videos.

How can I download a protected video from a website?

Protected videos can be easily downloaded by finding the URL from the source code. Follow my 11 steps to download private videos.