Share links explained: which address to copy on each platform
The link to copy is the one from the platform's own Share button, and on YouTube, TikTok and Facebook both the short and the full form of that link work here. youtu.be, vm.tiktok.com, vt.tiktok.com and fb.watch short links are followed to the video before anything is fetched. What matters is that the link names one video, which a Share link always does and an address copied mid scroll sometimes does not. This guide shows every link format you are likely to meet on the three platforms, which part of each one identifies the video, and what the extra characters tacked onto shared links are.
The rule that works everywhere: use Share, then Copy link
Copy from the Share control on the video, not from the address bar. A Share link is built to point at one specific video. An address copied while you scroll a feed can describe your place in that feed rather than the clip, and no downloader can turn that back into a video.
Every platform in this guide follows that rule. Instagram has its own wrinkles around /p/ and /reel/ paths and the ?igsh= string, which are covered in the guide to Instagram links that fail, so this article sticks to YouTube, TikTok and Facebook.
Whatever the format, one check settles it: paste the link and look at the thumbnail that comes back. The right thumbnail means the right link.
YouTube: watch, youtu.be, Shorts and live links
Every common YouTube link form works, and each one carries the same 11 character video ID. The ID is the only part that identifies the video. On a full link it sits after v=, and on the other forms it sits in the path.
youtu.be is YouTube's short domain and is roughly equivalent to a youtube.com/watch link, with the ID moved out of the v= parameter and into the path. YouTube's Share dialog offers a Copy button and a start time box, and ticking the start time adds t= to the link, which only tells a player where to begin. It cuts nothing. Only a youtube.com/clip/ link carries an end point as well, which the guide to downloading YouTube Clips covers. A link with list= names a playlist as well, but this tool fetches just the single video the link points at.
| Link form | Where you meet it | Works here? |
|---|---|---|
| youtube.com/watch?v=ID | Address bar on a normal video page | Yes |
| youtu.be/ID | Share button, Copy | Yes |
| youtube.com/shorts/ID | The Shorts player | Yes |
| youtube.com/live/ID | Livestreams and their replays | Yes, once the replay is published |
| youtube.com/embed/ID | Videos embedded on other sites | Yes |
What si= and pp= are
si= appears on links copied with the Share button, and pp= shows up on some links opened from search. Google does not publish official documentation of either, so we will not claim to know exactly what they record. What is certain is that neither one is the video ID, so deleting everything after the ID leaves a link that still names the same video. Keeping them makes no difference to the YouTube downloader either way.
YouTube Shorts links
A /shorts/ link is an ordinary video link with a different path, and it fetches exactly like a watch link. The ID after /shorts/ is the same kind of 11 character ID, so swapping /shorts/ID for watch?v=ID opens the same video in the normal player. The Shorts download guide covers the vertical frame and the resolutions a Short offers.
TikTok: full links and vm, vt and /t/ short links
TikTok uses one full link form and three short ones, and our server accepts all of them. The full link looks like tiktok.com/@user/video/ followed by a long number, and that number is the video ID. The short forms are vm.tiktok.com/CODE, vt.tiktok.com/CODE and tiktok.com/t/CODE, and each one redirects to a full link.
The share sheet usually hands you a short link, and you can paste it into the TikTok downloader as it is. There is no need to open it in a browser first to get the long address, because the redirect is followed before the video is fetched. Official TikTok documentation of these formats could not be confirmed, so the list above comes from the link patterns our engine recognises.
- tiktok.com/@user/video/NUMBER: the full link, where the number identifies the video.
- vm.tiktok.com/CODE and vt.tiktok.com/CODE: short share links that redirect to the full link.
- tiktok.com/t/CODE: another short form on the main domain.
The extras on an expanded TikTok link
When a short link expands, the full address often carries parameters after a question mark, such as _r=1, _t= and u_code=. TikTok does not document them. The video ID is in the path, not in those parameters, so everything after the question mark can go without changing which video the link names. Leaving them in does no harm to the download.
Facebook: watch, videos, posts, reels and fb.watch
Facebook video can sit behind several link forms, and all the common ones work here. You may see facebook.com/watch/?v=ID, facebook.com/PAGE/videos/ID, a /posts/ link, a group permalink or facebook.com/reel/ID. Facebook's watch page now redirects to Reels, which matches Facebook's decision to share all videos as reels, so older watch links still lead somewhere sensible.
fb.watch short links are followed as well. Our server lists fb.watch as a supported host and follows the redirect to the post before fetching, so a short link straight from the Share dialog goes into the Facebook video downloader unchanged. Facebook does not document what it appends to shared links, so treat anything after a question mark as optional.
- facebook.com/watch/?v=ID: the older watch page form, now redirected to Reels.
- facebook.com/PAGE/videos/ID: a video on a page.
- facebook.com/reel/ID: a reel. The Facebook Reels guide covers how these differ from a watch page.
- Post and group permalinks: fine as long as the post is public.
- fb.watch/CODE: a short share link that redirects to the post.
When the link is right and it still fails
Then the problem is access, not the address. A private account, a friends-only post, a private group, a story, or a video deleted after you copied the link will fail with any link form, short or full. The quickest check is to open the link in a private browsing window: if it plays while you are logged out, it can be fetched.
Region restrictions are a separate cause with their own tell, explained in the guide to videos unavailable in your country. And if the link works but the file takes an age to arrive, that is a speed question rather than a link question, which the slow download guide answers.
Frequently asked questions
Does a youtu.be link work the same as a full YouTube link?
Yes. youtu.be is YouTube's short domain and carries the same 11 character video ID, only in the path instead of after v=.
Do vm.tiktok.com and vt.tiktok.com links work?
Yes. Both are short share links that redirect to the full video link, and the redirect is followed before anything is fetched.
Do fb.watch links work?
Yes. Our server follows the fb.watch redirect to the post, so you can paste a short link straight from the Share dialog.
Should I remove si= from a YouTube link?
You can, and the link still names the same video, because si= is not the video ID. Leaving it in makes no difference to the download.
Why does a link from my address bar not work?
An address copied while scrolling can point at your place in the feed rather than one video. Use Share, then Copy link, to get an address that names the clip.
What about Instagram links?
Instagram has its own path and tracking quirks, covered in the guide to Instagram links that fail.