Facebook has rolled out a brand new offline videos option which lets users save videos in order to watch them later. While the company hasn’t announced the feature officially yet, it has been spotted in the Android version of the brand’s app.
There’s a catch though, since Facebook only allows users to save videos within the app, instead of letting them save it to their phone. In that light, it works similarly to YouTube’s own offline tool which also lets people hoard videos only within the walls of the application.
The primary attraction of such a feature is the ability to watch a video at any time without having to worry about a spotty network connection, especially in a country like India where connectivity can be very unreliable. Videos can further be downloaded when Wi-Fi is available to save up on data costs.
Also Read: Most Indians use Facebook while traveling
Using the new Facebook feature is pretty straightforward. All a person has to do is tap on the Save video option within the dropdown menu of a video and it’ll automatically start downloading. Videos can be saved and watched offline as many times as an individual wishes. It can also be deleted whenever they want to do so.
Facebook is probably limiting downloads to the app itself in order to make sure members don’t leave the app. There’s also the risk of piracy to consider. In any case, the offline videos feature is showing up in version 85 and 86 of the Facebook beta app for Android.