SaveTheVideo.com: is it safe? Ads, notifications and how to remove them
SaveTheVideo.com is a free online video downloader and converter that has run since 2015. The site itself works, but it lives on advertising, and copies of it on other domains, together with notification permissions some people granted years ago, are where the trouble starts.
Facts checked October 8, 2026. Removal steps tested on Windows 11 (26H2) and checked against Microsoft's and the browser makers' current documentation.
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SaveTheVideo.com: summary
| Type | Online video downloader (a website); shows third-party ads; not malware |
|---|---|
| Risk | Medium: the site installs nothing, the ads and look-alike copies are the risk |
| Symptoms | Desktop notifications or pop-ups from savethevideo.com or a look-alike address; ads for trading platforms or download software |
| Ads shown as | Banners on the page; desktop notifications only where a notification permission was allowed on the site or a copy |
| How to get rid of it | Take the notification permission back in the browser (steps below); uninstall and scan only if you ran a file from an ad |
| Our check (4 October 2026) | No notification request, no pop-ups; two partner ads; PropellerAds tag in the page source |
| Removal | Scan the PC with security software to find and remove the malware and anything installed with it. Fortect scans Windows for malware and repairs the system files and settings it damaged. Remove it nowTo use the full-featured product, you have to purchase a license for Fortect. The scan is free. |
Show 13 more facts
| Running since | 26 September 2015 (domain registered through NameSilo, renewed until September 2027) |
|---|---|
| First reported by us | 27 July 2020 |
| Download servers in 2020 | hsc05, ssc33, ssc08, ssc05, ssc17 and api on w02.savethevideo.com |
| Distribution | Visitors find it by searching for a video downloader; copies on other domains catch people who mistype or click search ads |
| Evidence | Our test of the site, the registry's record, the site's terms and supported-sites list, our 2020 report |
| Name | SaveTheVideo.com |
| Domains | savethevideo.com |
| Browsers | Chrome, Edge and Firefox |
| Installed on the PC | Nothing; a browser notification permission only |
| First seen | 27 July 2020 |
| Damage | Notification ads that lead to scam pages, fake virus alerts and unwanted downloads |
| Detection names | None: nothing is installed on the PC, so Microsoft Defender and other antivirus programs have no file to detect |
| Facts checked | 4 October 2026 |
Facts checked on 4 October 2026 against our own test of the site in desktop Chrome from Europe, the registry's RDAP record, the site's terms and its list of supported sites.
What SaveTheVideo.com is and how it works
SaveTheVideo.com is a website, not a program: you paste a link to a video from another site and it gives you the video or its sound as a file. Nothing is installed, and the site has run on the same address since 2015.
- 1
Paste a link
Copy the address of a video on Vimeo, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X or another supported site and paste it into the box.
- 2
Pick a format
Choose the video quality or a sound-only file. The site can also cut a clip by start and end time, or merge separate video and sound tracks.
- 3
Download the file
The site's own server sends an
.mp4,.webmor.mp3file. Anything that arrives as.exeor.msidid not come from the downloader.
- Works with
- Vimeo, Dailymotion, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X and several hundred smaller sites
- No longer works with
- YouTube (advertised until about 2020, gone from the list in 2026)
- Formats
- MP4, WebM, MP3, AAC and other video and audio formats, subtitles when the video has them
- Paid for by
- Advertising on the page and partner offers, not by users
Why do sites like this exist at all? Most video platforms have no download button for other people's videos, because they earn from the ads shown while you watch and the rights holders want it that way. A downloaded copy plays without those ads. Downloaders fill that gap and earn from their own advertising instead, which is also why their pages are full of it.
Sabethevideo, Savethevideos, SaveTheVideo updated and adult videos: what these searches mean
Sabethevideo and savethevideos are common misspellings of savethevideo.com, and searches with xyz point to look-alike addresses rather than the original.
The original has used the savethevideo.com domain since 26 September 2015, registered through NameSilo and renewed until September 2027. A copy on another ending can show different ads and ask for notifications. Type the address yourself, check the spelling in the address bar and leave any version that asks you to allow notifications.
In short, our SaveTheVideo.com review is this: the site itself installs nothing, but it lives on advertising. In our test on 4 October 2026 it showed no notification request and no pop-ups.
We saw two partner ads and a PropellerAds tag in the page source. The risk is in clicking those ads, in look-alike copies and in notification permissions granted years ago, so judge it as a working tool with ad risk.
People who search for SaveTheVideo updated usually want to know why a download that once worked now fails. We found no reliable source for a public change log, so we cannot say what was updated or when.
Our reading is that support depends on each video site, and the service keeps its own list of supported sites. Check that list before you try, and never install an updater or player that an ad offers you.
Some people ask whether SaveTheVideo works with adult video sites. We did not test this and found no reliable source that confirms it. Adult video pages and the ads around them are a frequent route to fake alerts, notification spam and harmful downloads.
Warning: If you use any online downloader with such pages, do not allow notifications, do not run files that arrive as programs, and take back any permission you allowed by mistake.
Is SaveTheVideo.com dangerous?
Our test on 4 October 2026
We used the site the way a visitor does: a clean desktop Chrome profile in Europe, a public Vimeo video, one download.
SaveTheVideo.com · desktop Chrome on Windows 11 · Europe · 4 October 2026
- Notification requestNone on this one visit.
- Pop-ups and redirectsNone when we pasted the link or started the download.
- The downloadA video file from the site's own download server, nothing else.
- Outside servicesGoogle Analytics only.
- Ads on the pageTwo: a cryptocurrency and stock trading platform linked with a referral code, and a paid video converter (VideoProc).
- App offer"Add to Home Screen" for less advertising; it installs a service worker in the browser.
- Ad networkA PropellerAds verification tag in the page source. PropellerAds sells pop-under and push-notification ads.
Use with care The downloader itself did its job without tricks. The risk is the advertising around it: ad networks change what they show by country, device and time, so a visitor elsewhere can get pop-unders or a notification request that we did not.
What changed since our 2020 report
September 2015
The domain is registered
savethevideo.com was registered on 26 September 2015 through NameSilo and is renewed until September 2027: a long-running service, not a throwaway site.
July 2020
Our first report: a YouTube downloader with risky ads
The site then advertised downloads from YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and served files from download servers such as
ssc05.w02.savethevideo.comandapi.w02.savethevideo.com. Its own notice already limited it to personal use.
SaveTheVideo.com in July 2020, when it still advertised YouTube downloads. 2020
Ads that asked for notification permission
Ads on the site opened pages like "Click the Allow button to subscribe to the push notifications and continue watching". Visitors who clicked Allow started getting ads on the desktop: the reports that made people search for a "SaveTheVideo virus".
A page opened from an ad on the site in 2020: the Allow button gives it permission to send notifications. October 2026
Our new check: calmer, same business model
YouTube is gone from the supported sites, no notification request appeared, and no pop-up opened. The ads remain, among them the same VideoProc converter the site advertised in 2020, and the PropellerAds tag shows the site still sells ad space to a push-ad network.
The VideoProc ad on the site in 2020; the same product was advertised there on 4 October 2026.
Copies of SaveTheVideo on other addresses
Searching for the name also leads to other sites that use it, and nothing on them says they belong to SaveTheVideo.com.
| Address | Registered | What it is |
|---|---|---|
www.savethevideo.com | 26 September 2015 | The downloader this guide is about, on HTTPS |
savethevideo.net | 1 May 2020 | A separate downloader titled "Save The Video - Free Online Video Downloader" |
A .cn address | unknown | The same title, ranking in search for the name |
Copies and look-alikes are where pushy notification requests, fake download buttons and installers usually appear, because many exist to sell traffic rather than to download videos. Check the address bar before you paste a link, and close any downloader that asks you to allow notifications, install an extension or download a "player" before it gives you the video.
The real risks, from most to least serious
The term "SaveTheVideo virus" is not accurate: the site installs nothing. These are the ways a visit can still go wrong.
- High
Running a file that came from an ad
Ads on download sites can lead to fake players, fake updates and bundled installers. Running one is how adware, browser hijackers and sometimes real malware such as trojans get onto the PC.
- Medium
Clicking Allow on a notification request
One click lets the site, or the page an ad opened, send ads to your desktop until you take the permission back. Chrome and Edge can show them even after you close the browser window, because by default they keep running in the background; Firefox shows them only while it is open.
- Medium
Scam pages opened by ads
Surveys, prize draws and get-rich-quick offers that ask for your name, phone number or card details. The trading-platform ads on the site belong to the same high-risk category.
- Medium
Look-alike copies of the site
They use the same name and are more aggressive with ads and requests than the original, as the table above shows.
- Low
Copyright
The site's terms allow personal use only and forbid downloading copyrighted material. Most videos on social networks are copyrighted, so downloading them can break the platform's terms or the law, whatever downloader you use.
What adware installed from such ads typically collects
- IP address
- Internet provider
- Websites visited
- Links and ads clicked
- Browser and device details
- Installed apps and extensions
It uses this to show you more targeted ads. If you ran something from an ad, the steps below and the section "If you clicked an ad or ran a file" remove it.
How to remove SaveTheVideo.com
How to stop SaveTheVideo.com notifications
Do this in every browser you use, and in every profile inside it: each keeps its own list of sites allowed to send notifications.
Nothing has to be uninstalled for the notifications themselves.
Which browser shows the ads?
Check which browser shows them: Chrome and Edge show notifications in the Windows notification area, Firefox labels them with its own name.
Then check every profile in that browser, because each profile has its own permissions. If savethevideo.com is not in the list, look for a similar name: the sending address can differ from the site you visited.
Step 1: Remove savethevideo.com from Chrome's notification list
Chrome keeps a list of every site you once allowed to send notifications, and
savethevideo.comis on it. Pastechrome://settings/content/notificationsinto the address bar, find savethevideo.com under Allowed to send notifications, open the three-dot menu next to it and pick Remove.Then click Add next to Not allowed to send notifications and type savethevideo.com, so the site cannot ask a second time. Repeat it in every Chrome profile you use on Windows 11 or Windows 10, since each profile has its own list.
Chrome on Windows 11: Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Notifications. Full procedure with screenshots: Stop website notifications and pop-ups
Still there? More for Google Chrome
Remove extensions you do not recognise
Paste
chrome://extensionsinto the address bar and click Remove on anything you did not install yourself, especially video downloaders, "search" or PDF helpers added recently.Full procedure with screenshots: Remove a browser extension
Clear the site data
Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete, choose All time, tick Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files, and click Delete data.
Reset Chrome
Open Settings > Reset settings > Restore settings to their original defaults and confirm with Reset settings. This resets the start page, search engine and pinned tabs and turns off extensions; bookmarks and saved passwords stay. To stop notifications after you close Chrome, also turn off Settings > System > Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed.
Full procedure with screenshots: Reset a browser and fix a hijacked search engine
Step 1: Remove savethevideo.com from Edge's notification list
Open Settings and more (the three dots) > Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Site permissions > All permissions > Notifications. Remove
savethevideo.comfrom the Allowed list, then click Add site next to Not allowed to send notifications and enter it there.Edge is built into both Windows 11 and Windows 10, so check it even if you normally use another browser. If the notifications came with the Edge logo, this is the browser that holds the permission.
Edge on Windows 11: Site permissions > All permissions > Notifications. Full procedure with screenshots: Stop website notifications and pop-ups
Still there? More for Microsoft Edge
Remove extensions you do not recognise
Paste
edge://extensionsinto the address bar and click Remove under anything you did not install yourself.Full procedure with screenshots: Remove a browser extension
Clear the site data
Open Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Delete browsing data > Choose what to clear, set All time, tick Cookies and other site data and Cached images and files, and click Clear now.
Reset Edge
Open Settings > Reset settings > Restore settings to their default values and confirm with Reset. Extensions are turned off and the start page goes back to default; favourites, history and saved passwords stay. To stop notifications after you close Edge, turn off Settings > System and performance > Continue running background extensions and apps when Microsoft Edge is closed.
Full procedure with screenshots: Reset a browser and fix a hijacked search engine
Step 1: Remove savethevideo.com from Firefox's notification permissions
Open the menu (three lines) > Settings and click Permissions and data in the left list, then Notifications. Select
savethevideo.com, click Remove Website and confirm with Save Changes.In versions older than Firefox 152 the same list sits under Privacy & Security, behind a Settings button next to Notifications. Firefox shows these notifications only while it is running, on Windows 11 and Windows 10 alike.
Firefox on Windows 11: the Notification Permissions window. Full procedure with screenshots: Stop website notifications and pop-ups
Still there? More for Mozilla Firefox
Remove add-ons you do not recognise
Paste
about:addonsinto the address bar, open Extensions, and choose Remove from the three-dot menu of anything you did not install yourself.Full procedure with screenshots: Remove a browser extension
Clear cookies and site data
Open Settings > Privacy & Security > Cookies and Site Data > Clear Data, tick both boxes and click Clear.
Refresh Firefox
Open the menu > Help > More troubleshooting information and click Refresh Firefox. Add-ons and custom settings are removed and the home page goes back to default; bookmarks, history and passwords stay.
Full procedure with screenshots: Reset a browser and fix a hijacked search engine
Take back the notification permission
Safari 18 and later on macOS: open Safari > Settings > Websites > Notifications, select
savethevideo.com(or any site you do not recognise) and set it to Deny, or click Remove. Untick Allow websites to ask for permission to send notifications at the bottom so no site can ask again.Remove extensions you do not recognise
In Safari > Settings > Extensions, select anything you did not install yourself and click Uninstall.
Clear the site data
In Safari > Settings > Privacy > Manage Website Data, remove the site's data, or use History > Clear History > all history. To empty the cache as well, turn on Show features for web developers in Settings > Advanced and choose Develop > Empty Caches.
Check the Mac for apps from the ads
Ads also target Mac users with fake players and "cleaners". In Finder > Applications, move anything unknown to the Bin. In System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions, remove unknown items. Then use Go > Go to Folder to check
/Library/LaunchAgents,~/Library/LaunchAgents,/Library/LaunchDaemonsand/Library/Application Supportfor folders and files with the same unknown names, and empty the Bin.
Then, whichever browser you use
Step 2: Scan the PC if you downloaded anything from the ads
If you only saw the notifications and clicked nothing, you can stop before this step. If a notification led you to download or run something, delete that file, then scan Windows.
In Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options, run a Full scan, then choose Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan) and Scan now. The offline scan restarts the PC and takes about 15 minutes on Windows 11 and Windows 10.
Windows 11: Windows Security > Virus & threat protection > Scan options. Full procedure with screenshots: Run a Microsoft Defender Offline scan
After removal: keep the ads from coming back
If you clicked an ad or ran a file
The browser steps above are enough if you only saw notifications. If an ad led you to download or run something, do these three things as well.
- 1
Uninstall what came with it
Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps in Windows 11 (Apps & features in Windows 10), sort by install date and uninstall anything installed on the day you clicked the ad (Uninstall a program or app in Windows On uGetFix).
- 2
Scan, then scan offline
Run a Microsoft Defender Full scan, then the Microsoft Defender Antivirus (offline scan), which finds trojans, remote-access tools and backdoors that hide while Windows runs.
- 3
Reset the browser
Programs from ads often change the start page, search engine or extensions. Use the reset step for your browser above.
If you typed a password, card number or other personal details on a page an ad opened, change that password now and call your bank about the card.
How to keep it from happening again
Do
- Turn off notification requests: in Chrome, Settings > Privacy and security > Site settings > Notifications > Don't allow sites to send notifications.
- Download programs only from their makers' sites or the Microsoft Store.
- When an installer offers Custom or Advanced setup, choose it and untick extra programs, pre-ticked boxes and offers hidden in the fine print.
- Keep Microsoft Defender SmartScreen on, or Chrome's Enhanced protection: both warn before known malicious pages and downloads.
- Keep a current backup of your files (File History or OneDrive), so an infection or a failed disk does not cost you your documents.
- On public networks, a VPN hides your IP address from the sites and ad networks you visit; it does not block ads or malware.
Don't
- Click Allow on a page that says you must allow notifications to continue watching or to prove you are not a robot.
- Run an
.exeor.msifile that a video downloader gave you. - Install a "player", codec or extension that a site demands before it gives you a video.
- Trust ads on torrent, file-conversion and adult sites: they often come from ad networks that also sell space to criminals, and they are used for drive-by downloads and browser hijacking.
Safer ways to save a video
Use the platform's own option first: it keeps the creator's rights intact and involves no third-party site.
| Platform | Built-in way to keep a video |
|---|---|
| TikTok | Save video in the share menu, on videos whose authors allow it |
| Save to a collection inside the app | |
| Save video to watch later in the app | |
| X | Bookmark the post |
| YouTube | Download for offline viewing with YouTube Premium; your own uploads from YouTube Studio |
| Vimeo | The Download button, where the owner allows it |
If you do use an online downloader, use it in a browser profile with notifications blocked, ignore every button except the download link the site makes for your video, and scan any file that turned out to be a program instead of a video. A real video download is an .mp4, .webm or .mp3 file.
Questions about SaveTheVideo.com
Is SaveTheVideo.com safe to use?
In our check on 4 October 2026 the site downloaded a public video without asking for notification permission, opening pop-ups or installing anything. That makes the downloader itself low risk.
The risk comes from what surrounds it: partner ads for trading platforms and download software, an ad network registration that allows pop-under and push ads in other countries or at other times, and look-alike sites with the same name.
Use it in a browser profile where notifications are blocked, click only the download link it creates for your video, and never run a file that turns out to be a program instead of a video. If you want no third-party site at all, use the platform's own save or offline feature.
Is SaveTheVideo legal?
The service is legal to visit, but what you download decides whether you break any rules. Its own terms allow personal use only and forbid downloading copyrighted material. Most videos on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X are copyrighted by the people who made them, and the platforms' terms generally allow saving only through their own buttons.
Downloading your own uploads, videos under a Creative Commons licence or public-domain material is normally fine. Downloading someone else's music video or film to keep or share is where copyright problems start, whatever downloader you use. When in doubt, use the platform's built-in save or offline option, which stays within its rules.
Why can't SaveTheVideo download YouTube videos anymore?
The site no longer lists YouTube among its supported sources: on 4 October 2026 its home page named Vimeo, Dailymotion, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X, and YouTube was missing from its list of supported sites, although older versions of the site advertised YouTube downloads.
YouTube actively blocks download services, and many web downloaders dropped it after legal and technical pressure. Sites that still promise YouTube downloads are often the copies and ad-heavy look-alikes this guide warns about. For YouTube, the safe route is offline viewing through YouTube Premium, or downloading your own videos from YouTube Studio.
Does SaveTheVideo.com have a virus?
No malware was installed in our test, and the site's own downloads were video and audio files. The "virus" reports people search for usually come from three things:
- notifications they allowed on the site or a copy of it years ago
- ads that opened scam or fake update pages
- files downloaded from those ads
A notification permission is not a virus, but it keeps delivering ads until you remove it in the browser settings, which the steps above show. If you ran a file that came from an ad, uninstall anything installed at that time and run a Microsoft Defender full scan and offline scan.
How do I stop notifications from SaveTheVideo?
Remove the site from the browser's list of sites allowed to send notifications. In Chrome open chrome://settings/content/notifications, in Edge edge://settings/content/notifications, and in Firefox Settings > Permissions and data > Notifications, then remove savethevideo.com and any similar address you do not recognise, such as a copy of the site on another domain. Add it to the blocked list so it cannot ask again.
Do this in every browser and profile you use. Notifications stop at once and no program has to be uninstalled. If they keep coming from changing addresses, also check the browser's extensions.
Is savethevideo.net the same as SaveTheVideo.com?
Not as far as public information shows. savethevideo.net was registered on 1 May 2020, five years after savethevideo.com, and it runs its own downloader under the title "Save The Video - Free Online Video Downloader".
Neither site links to the other or names it as a partner. Similar names are common among downloaders because the words describe what the sites do, and some copies exist only to catch people who mistype or click search ads. Treat each address separately:
- check what it asks of you
- never allow notifications
- never install anything it offers
What is the safest way to download a video?
The safest way is the platform's own feature, because it involves no third-party site, ads or files from unknown servers. TikTok shows a save option on videos whose authors allow downloads, YouTube offers offline viewing with Premium, and Facebook and X let you save posts to watch later.
For your own uploads, use the platform's download-your-data or studio tools. If you use an online downloader, pick one that does not ask for notification permission, block notifications for it anyway, and check that what you get is an .mp4, .webm or .mp3 file. Any .exe, .msi or .zip file means you clicked an ad.
Should I install the SaveTheVideo app from the Add to Home Screen prompt?
It is not a separate program but a shortcut to the website that the browser installs as an app, using the service worker the site registers. It does not get more access to your PC than the site already has in the browser, and the site says it shows less advertising this way.
You can remove it like any installed web app, from the browser's apps page or from Settings > Apps > Installed apps in Windows. There is no reason to install anything from an advertisement on the page, though: the real app prompt comes from the browser itself, not from a download button.
Will Fortect remove SaveTheVideo.com?
No program removes SaveTheVideo.com itself, because there is nothing on the PC to remove: the notifications come through a permission saved in the browser, and only the browser's settings take it away, as the steps above show.
What Fortect can do is check the rest of Windows. Its free scan looks for malware, unwanted programs and damaged system files, which is useful if you clicked the ads, downloaded something from the pages they opened, or are not sure what else changed on the PC.
If the scan finds nothing and the notifications stopped after you removed the permission, this problem is solved. Use Microsoft Defender as a second opinion whenever you have downloaded files from pages like these.
Sources
- Verisign RDAP: savethevideo.com registration record (read October 4, 2026)
- SaveTheVideo.com: Terms of Service (read October 4, 2026)
- SaveTheVideo.com: Supported sites (read October 4, 2026)
- Google Chrome Help: Use notifications to get alerts (no longer online) (read October 4, 2026)
- FTC: How to recognize, remove and avoid malware (read October 4, 2026)
- YouTube Help: Download videos to watch offline (no longer online) (read October 4, 2026)