Have you found an online video that you particularly like and want to share with a friend? Are you part of a large WhatsApp or Telegram group, and you’d like to share a movie trailer that’s hitting theaters, but you don’t know how? You’ll be happy to know that you’re in the right place, as you’ll soon learn how to obtain a video’s URL.
In the end, you’ll be able to show your friends the videos that interest you, regardless of the platform on which the multimedia content was uploaded. You’ll also learn how to do this from smartphones, tablets, and computers.
What are you still doing here? Just read and follow the brief instructions below. Rest assured that this is a trivial operation, and by following the tips, you’ll be able to complete it in a matter of minutes. So, happy reading, and have fun!
How to find the URL of a video on YouTube?
YouTube is the most widely used video streaming platform globally. That’s why there’s a high chance that you want to share the multimedia content you’ve seen on Google’s own site. Don’t worry! In this case, you’ll find all the information you need to achieve your goal in no time below.
Computer
The official YouTube website is widely used for watching videos from a computer. Sharing multimedia content found on this platform is very easy, as Google has implemented a native feature for this purpose. What are you waiting for? Just read and follow the short instructions below.
Simply open the video you want to share and click on the “SHARE” button located below the player. The video URL will then appear on the screen, and by clicking on the word COPY, you can share it wherever you like. Of course, you can use direct sharing buttons for various social media networks, such as Facebook and Twitter. You may need to log in.
Smartphone and Tablet
The YouTube app is consistently among the most downloaded apps in mobile phone stores, so you’ll likely want to learn how to find a video URL from this platform. No problem: the California-based company has made this process very easy, and I assure you that you can do everything in just a few taps.
First, you need to install the YouTube app. On many Android smartphones and tablets, it is already pre-installed, and you are prompted to check it. If you can’t find it or if you have an iPhone or an iPad, open the Play Store (if you have an Android device) or the App Store (if you use an iPhone or an iPad), search for “youtube” in it and select the app icon (a white arrow pointing right on a red background). Then, proceed with the installation by pressing the Install/Obtain button and, if you are on iOS, verify your identity using Face ID, Touch ID, or Apple ID password.
Once the app is installed, all you need to do is open the video you want to share, press the Share button below the title, and click on the Copy Link button. Great, now the video URL will be copied to your device’s clipboard, and you can share it wherever you want.
How to obtain a video URL on Facebook?
Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg’s popular social network, has long offered the ability to upload videos to its site, allowing users to share and comment on them, just like the most popular video sharing platforms. Sharing a video on Facebook is very simple. Below are the procedures to follow from your computer or your smartphone and tablet.
Computer
Facebook is mainly used on computers through its official website and its application for Windows 10. The procedure to obtain a video URL from this platform is quite simple. Just find the video you want to share and click on the “Expand” icon (which draws an arrow pointing up and down) in the bottom right corner of the player.
A new page will automatically appear on the screen, and you will find the video URL in your browser’s address bar. In some cases, you may need to log in with your Facebook profile.
Smartphone and Tablet
Facebook also offers a handy app for smartphones and tablets, which of course allows you to share various videos uploaded to the social network.
The first thing to do is to install the Facebook app. If you have an Android device, it may already be on your device, and you are prompted to check it. If you don’t have an iPhone or iPad, launch the Play Store (Android) or the App Store (iOS), search for “facebook” in it and select the app icon (a white “f” on a blue background). Finally, press the Install/Get button and verify your identity if necessary. On iOS, this can be done via Face ID, Touch ID, or Apple ID password.
All you have to do now is find the video you want to access and click on the icon of the three horizontal dots in the upper right corner. Then, click on the Copy Link option, and you can show your friends the multimedia content in question.
How to find the URL of a video from Rai?
Rai has a video streaming platform, RaiPlay, which hosts a wide range of live and on-demand content, including movies, TV shows, series, and fictional programs. To learn how to share a video from RaiPlay using your computer, smartphone, or tablet, follow the instructions below.
Computer
On a computer, Rai offers a website that allows users to access much of its TV programming (as well as live streaming channels). Therefore, you might want to learn how to obtain the URL of a video uploaded on this platform. The process is quite simple.
Simply start the video you want to share and take its URL directly from the address bar of your browser. In some cases, you may need to sign in with your Rai account to access the videos. To do this, enter your email address and password, then click “Login” when prompted, or authenticate using your social media profiles by clicking the appropriate buttons.
Smartphone and Tablet
One of the most popular methods to watch Rai programs in replay is to use the convenient app available for smartphones and tablets. This allows you to easily share video URLs with your friends.
First, if you haven’t already, you need to download the RaiPlay app. To do this, open the Play Store (Android) or the App Store (iOS), search for “rai play,” and select the app icon. Then, click the Install/Get button, and if you’re using an iOS device, verify your identity using Face ID, Touch ID, or your Apple ID password.
Once the app is installed, simply launch the video (after signing in) and tap the “Share” button at the bottom right of the screen. Then, choose to share the content on Facebook, Twitter, or WhatsApp. It is advised to use WhatsApp, an instant messaging platform, to obtain the URL.
Click the WhatsApp icon and select a friend. This will open the WhatsApp chat with the video URL in the message. Generally, the message should not be sent automatically, but it’s always a good idea to choose a trusted contact (or your secondary account) to avoid disturbing others.
How to obtain a video URL through a browser?
One often underestimated method for learning how to obtain a video’s URL involves understanding how a browser works. In fact, these programs (like Chrome or Firefox) can be a valuable source of information and allow you to easily find the URL of multimedia content, even if it is embedded directly in a page.
Chrome (Windows/macOS/Linux)
Google Chrome is one of the most popular browsers worldwide. If you use it and want to learn how to utilize its tools to obtain a video URL, continue reading. We will explain how to take advantage of the built-in “Inspect” element and some third-party extensions suitable for this purpose.
First, check if the video player has a button designed for sharing. Minor websites often implement this feature as well. However, you may encounter media content that is not shareable, or you may want to obtain the direct link to the video instead of the page where it is included. Let us explain how to proceed.
Simply right-click on the video you want to share and select “Inspect” from the context menu. The website’s HTML code will then appear on the screen, and you can search for the video’s URL.
If you have not succeeded yet, consider using third-party extensions like VideoDownloadHelper. Install it from the Chrome Web Store and click on the blue “Add” button. Then, click on “Add Extension,” and you will see the extension icon in the top right corner.
Next, visit the website containing the video of interest and click on the three-ball icon in the top right corner. Hover over the video you want to extract the URL from and click on the three-dot icon that appears on the right.
Finally, select “Copy Address” from the menu, and you will find the video link in the clipboard. In some cases, you may need to press the “Play” button for the video to be detected by VideoDownloadHelper. If you would like to download the video instead, refer to our guide on downloading videos with Chrome.
Firefox (Windows/macOS/Linux)
Firefox also implements a native feature called “Analyze Element,” which allows users to analyze web page content and take advantage of extensions that can be helpful in finding a video’s URL, among other things.
To use the “Analyze Element” function, simply right-click on a video and select “Analyze Element” from the context menu. The page code will then appear on the screen, and you can search for the link to the multimedia content you are watching.
Don’t worry if you haven’t found the URL yet; here’s how to use a third-party extension to do so. Just visit the official video download help page and click on the blue “Add to Firefox” button. Wait for the add-on to download, then click Install and OK.
Now, follow the instructions in the section on how to find a video’s URL using Chrome (the procedure is the same). Alternatively, if you want to download the multimedia content in question, I suggest checking out my tutorial on how to download videos with Firefox.
Edge (Windows)
Edge is the browser that replaced the historical Internet Explorer in Windows 10. Microsoft has implemented a feature, accessible through the developer tools, which allows users to obtain the addresses of multimedia content contained in web pages. In this case as well, third-party extensions can be used.
To take advantage of Edge’s developer tools, simply right-click on a video, select “Review Item” from the context menu, and search for the multimedia content’s URL in the code displayed on the screen.
If you’d rather download a video, you can try looking into third-party extensions like Video Downloader Professional for Edge. Unfortunately, it is not possible to use it to create a link to a video. You can use third-party programs, such as JDownloader, already discussed in detail in this guide, to derive URLs and download embedded videos from web pages.
Safari (macOS)
Many Mac users use Safari as their default browser. If you’re one of them, Apple’s browser allows you to view the source code of HTML pages and can thus help you find a video’s URL.
First, check if the content you want to share has a dedicated share button. In most cases, pressing a native button is enough, and the site provides the URL. However, in some cases, you may encounter a video that isn’t intended to be shared or, with the classic share function, refers to the page’s URL rather than the embedded video’s direct URL.
Don’t worry; you can still use the developer tools included in Safari. To enable them, open your Apple browser, click on Safari in the top-left corner (next to the Apple logo), and select Preferences from the on-screen menu. Check the box for “Show Develop menu in menu bar” in the Advanced tab.
Now, right-click on the video whose URL you want to find and select “Inspect Element” from the context menu. The HTML code of the selected element will appear on the screen: carefully analyze it and see if the video’s URL is present.
