Saving is not the same as owning
Having a copy of a file gives you no rights over the work it contains. The person who made it still holds the copyright, and that is true whether the post was public, whether it had a watermark, and whether it credited anyone.
Personal use — watching something offline, keeping a copy of a video you appeared in, saving a reference for your own work — is a very different position from publishing that file somewhere else under your own name.
Before you republish anything
Ask three questions. Did you create it? Do you have permission from whoever did? Or does your use fall under a genuine exception like commentary, criticism, news reporting or parody, where you are adding something rather than reposting wholesale?
If the answer to all three is no, republishing is infringement, regardless of whether you credit the original creator. Credit is courtesy; it is not a licence.
Reposting other people's work is also the fastest way to lose an account. Platform copyright systems act on the upload, not on your intent.
What is never acceptable
Private or restricted content that was not shared with you. Paid or subscription content redistributed for free. Anything involving a minor in a sexual context. Content used to harass, impersonate or defraud someone.
These are not edge cases requiring judgement. If a download would only be useful for one of these, it is not a use this product supports, and reports are acted on.
Watermarks
Some sources add a watermark during export and some do not; where a clean rendition is what the source itself serves, that is what you get. Removing an author's own signature from their work in order to pass it off as yours is a separate act, and a dishonest one.
Common questions
- Can I use a downloaded clip in my own video?
- Sometimes — short excerpts used for commentary, review or parody may qualify as fair use or fair dealing depending on your jurisdiction. Wholesale reuse of someone's footage as the substance of your own video generally does not.
- The video has no watermark or credit. Is it free to use?
- No. Copyright is automatic on creation. The absence of a notice tells you nothing about the rights.
- What if I made the video and posted it myself?
- Then it is yours, and getting your own work back off a platform is one of the most legitimate reasons to use a downloader.