Facebook's Android App Can Now Save Offline Videos (ndtv.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from NDTV: The latest versions of Facebook's Android app now allow users to save videos for offline viewing. The video is saved inside the app in the 'Saved' section, and is not accessible independently to users. Facebook for Android is showing a 'Save video' option in the dropdown menu of a Facebook video post. The videos can be saved and viewed offline for as many times as the user desires and can also be deleted as per his/her wish. The company might not be willing to provide the video file independently to its users in order to encourage sharing over its own social media networking site, however, it is anybody's guess what the actual reason behind this decision is. It seems in line with what companies like Google have been doing with YouTube in developing nations like India, where a save for offline viewing option is present to combat mobile data woes. As per an Android Police report, the option to save videos is currently showing up in versions 85 and 86 (beta) of the Facebook for Android app.

Comments

well, duh.

[Anonymous Coward]

of course they don't want you to have the video to upload to youtube or some other site... but don't you worry, i'm sure someone will figure out how to liberate the bits soon enough.

Re:well, duh.

[Anonymous Coward]

Especially since they love to steal video users post from Youtube and other sources, ripping them and making the vids post on their own internal player thus robbing YouTube of the views and profits.

Re:well, duh.

[bluelip]

That's how FB gets most of its videos. Stolen content.

One can only hope for a MySpace ending to Facebook.

News?

[Mr0bvious]

Did you all read that? Someone added a mundane feature to an app!

WOW I'm so shocked, this is freak'n awesome!

How is this news?

Re:News?

[Anonymous Coward]

Because no signal, but still want to show a vid.
This news will cause some to scream in joy. Some but obviously not all.

!(not accessible independently to users)

[sittingnut]

"not accessible independently to users"
really?
do they seriously think they can do that? or is that just whitewash to get copyright mafia off their ass?

for the low low price of

[Anonymous Coward]

All of your person information
Yay!

It's on your computer but you can't access it?

[jabberw0k]

These so-called "apps" that run on so-called "smart" so-called "telephones" fly in the face of the good things we all spent our lives building the PERSONAL computer industry for.

Re:It's on your computer but you can't access it?

[Dog-Cow]

And by "we", you mean other people. The industry exists to make money. All industries exist to make money. (OK, to generate wealth, but we measure that using money these days.)

Re:It's on your computer but you can't access it?

[Blaskowicz]

Passwords are on my computer but I can't access them! What's in /etc/shadow is completely garbled and not the right size.
Anyway, what's your freedom on Facebok? How do you download gmail and run it on your server?
With everything revolving around a few handfuls of "services", you may as well run linux of varying ideological purity, NetBSD or the Hurd and you'll still be fucked if you don't realize what you're doing.

WOW

[invictusvoyd]

How did they do that!
And the folks at GNU think microkernels are complicated.

Re:WOW

[Anonymous Coward]

Not GNU , FSF

Re:WOW

[invictusvoyd]

Is that you Mr. Stallman ?

Agreed

[Kludge]

This is incredibly dumb, because,
1. Any real nerd would know how to grab the video anyway. If it plays on your phone, it is already on your phone and you can save it.
2. Any real nerd doesn't use some crappy website and app that restricts what you can download.

Re:Agreed

[invictusvoyd]

3. Most real nerds are virgins

Re: Agreed

[Anonymous Coward]

This isn't targeted at nerds.

As for real nerds, prove yourself. Extract a video from the walled garden that is an apps temporary file storage without rooting your phone. I'll be waiting here with popcorn for news of how you went.

Re:Agreed

[Anonymous Coward]

Wow. I'm in the presence of a real nerd?!?! Color me impressed. You're the man! Such a fucking man!

How about you go tug your dick some more over the next Star Wars trailer or some faggot shit like that.

What's wrong with the built-in video app?

[Anonymous Coward]

Every smart phone has one. It takes videos. The video stays on your phone until you decide if and when you want to share it. I suppose that might not be convenient if you're about to be shot by the police but otherwise it should be fine.

Re:What's wrong with the built-in video app?

[invictusvoyd]

Dude you got it all wrong .. "save facebook videos for offline viewing" get it?

Re:What's wrong with the built-in video app?

[Anonymous Coward]

The built-in video app is for LUDDITES who don't want their videos MONETIZED by tax-avoiding CORPORATIONS who share their data mining SURVEILLANCE methods with THE NSA. Why do you hate AMERICA and its companies who declare their income in IRELAND?

Apps!

Millenials

[110010001000]

It is pretty app sad that app millennials think a change to an app to "save videos" is app noteworthy. In app my app day we were app amazed when Kermit app added compression app. Get off my app lawn!

Re:Millenials

[Mr0bvious]

Man get with the times... Zmodem FTW!

FaceFUCK

[Anonymous Coward]

and be glad it wasn't in your gloryhole!

This IS what nerdly news IS!

Interesting times indeed

[Anonymous Coward]

The technological progress of the present day is incredible. Videos can be saved and viewed at any time! Unbelievable. I didn't even think this was possible!

Who would have imagined this kind of progress 20 years ago? Sometimes I'm afraid about the pace of progress. Will I be able to keep up with all the new advanced technologies?

Re:Interesting times indeed

[Anonymous Coward]

Videos can be saved and viewed at any time! Unbelievable. I didn't even think this was possible!

But not yet copied to another device, for that would be far too complicated. Perhaps by 2050 we will have such advanced technology.

? you make no sense

[Kludge]

without rooting your phone.

If I am a nerd why on earth would I own a device on which I do not have root access? I have root on all my devices.

Know what would be really news?

[ilsaloving]

Know what would be really news about Facebooks mobile app?

If they figure out how to reduce it's footprint by an order of magnitude. Between the main Facebook app, and their stupid Messenger app, you're looking at approximately 750 MEGAbytes of space. What in the great name of the Holy Chicken Wing of Vega could it possibly be doing that justifies a footprint in the same range as a AAA mobile game?

I don't know if this is because Zuckerberg considers developers with bonafied credentials (like having a CS degree) to be overrated, bad project management, or if they simply don't care.

Regardless of the reasons, I've completely dumped everything facebook from my phone cause I would rather use the space for things that *I* want. If I need facebook, I will use their web site. And since Facebook refuses to allow mobile users to use messenger through their website, I've dropped messenger completely.

You always could

[Anonymous Coward]

unless you're a fucking noob. And I don't mean inside some app boundaries.

Learn to Firefox console.

I could care less, still on v63

[bobthesungeek76036]

I refuse to update Facebook since they took away the Widget function. It will be a cold day in Hades lair before I update Facebook...

Ambiguous subject

[Anonymous Coward]

Shouldn't that be "save [online] videos for offline use"? Saving offline videos isn't that useful (it's called "copy").