Is it legal to download Bilibili videos?

Short answer: downloading to watch is generally fine; doing anything else with someone else’s video needs their permission. The details depend on where you live, so treat this as a practical guide, not legal advice.

What is usually fine

• Watching offline. Saving a public video to watch on a flight or a slow connection, then not sharing the file.
• Your own uploads. Backing up, re-editing or cross-posting videos you made.
• Study and research, such as language learning with the video and its subtitles, kept to yourself.
• Licensed content, where the creator says reuse is allowed (some put a Creative Commons notice in the description).

What needs permission

• Re-uploading to YouTube, TikTok, Douyin, Instagram or anywhere else, even with credit.
• Commercial use: ads, paid courses, client work, monetised compilations.
• Removing the creator’s watermark or credit. Covering your own logo is fine; stripping someone else’s to pass their work off as yours is not. The watermark remover on this site is meant for videos you own or may edit.

What Bilibili’s user agreement says

Bilibili’s user agreement gives you a personal licence to use the service and forbids copying, distributing or using content outside Bilibili without authorisation from Bilibili or the rights holder. Bangumi (licensed anime, films and series) and paid content are licensed by Bilibili from studios and can’t be downloaded with the downloader here.

Fair use and quotation

In the US, fair use can cover short clips for commentary, criticism, news or teaching. Other countries have narrower “quotation” rules. Courts look at why you used the clip, how much you took and whether it replaces the original. A reaction video that shows the whole thing rarely qualifies.

A simple rule

If you wouldn’t be comfortable telling the creator what you’re doing with their video, ask them first. Most creators on Bilibili list contact details on their profile and many say yes when credited.

Related: how to download Bilibili videos · remove a watermark from your own Bilibili video.