Install Tuckbird
About two minutes. Do this on the Android phone where you want Tuckbird.
- Get WristReel firstIf you don't have it yet, install WristReel from Google Play on this phone. It's a paid app, and one purchase covers your phone and your watch. Then open WristReel once to finish the watch setup: its watch app comes from Google Play too.
- Download Tuckbird Download Tuckbird 0.2.0 If Chrome says the file might be harmful, tap Download anyway. Chrome can say this about apps that don't come from Google Play.
- Open the fileTap Open in Chrome's download bar, or open it from your notifications or the Files app.
- Allow installs from Chrome, this onceAndroid asks you to allow Install unknown apps for Chrome. Turn it on, go back, then tap Install. You can turn it off again afterwards.
Samsung Galaxy: if a pop-up says Unknown app blocked or mentions Auto Blocker, Samsung's Auto Blocker stopped the install. It's on by default on Galaxy phones that came with One UI 6.1.1 or newer. Turn it off for this install only: Settings → Security and privacy → Auto Blocker, switch it off, come back and open the file again. Turn Auto Blocker back on after Tuckbird is installed.
- If Play Protect asksTap Scan app, then Install when the scan finishes. You never need to turn Play Protect off.
- Open TuckbirdA short welcome guide walks you through three things: allow notifications (so it can tell you when a video is ready), check that WristReel is on this phone, and how to share a link to Tuckbird.
Using it
- In TikTok, Instagram or Facebook, open a video and tap Share.
- Tap More (or Share to…) to open Android's share menu, then pick Tuckbird. Tip: on many phones you can long-press Tuckbird there and pin it, so it stays near the top.
- Stay on the screen for a few seconds and the video goes straight to your watch. If you leave, tap the Ready: tap to send to your watch notification (on the phone, or on the watch and then Open on phone), or Send to watch in Tuckbird.
Got a link in a chat? You can let Tuckbird open TikTok, Instagram and Facebook video links when you tap them. Tuckbird's guide sets this up once (Android calls it Open by default). Other links still open in the app or browser as before. Or copy the link and tap Paste a link in Tuckbird.
Updates
Once a day Tuckbird checks tuckbird.com/update.json and shows a notification when there's a new version. You can also tap Check for updates in Tuckbird any time. It downloads the new version, checks its SHA-256 and asks you before installing. The first time, Android asks you to allow Tuckbird to install updates: turn it on and come back, and the update continues by itself. Tuckbird never installs an update without asking you.
Using Tuckbird 0.1.0? Open it and tap Check for updates once; daily checks start with 0.2.0.
The part that reads the sites (yt-dlp) updates itself every few days, because the sites change often.
On a Samsung Galaxy, Auto Blocker blocks Tuckbird's updates too, and Tuckbird tells you when that happens. Turn it off just while the update installs, tap Check for updates again, then turn it back on.
Check the download
Every Tuckbird release is signed with the same key. Android refuses an update signed with any other key.
- File
tuckbird-0.2.0.apk, 55,822,020 bytes- SHA-256 of the file
4ec50c9c600bf0a123d557d74ecdd67339a951b929a55506f19f6a62041d0221- Signing certificate SHA-256
6B:72:72:EB:66:9B:B4:EC:62:39:BD:AA:99:A8:17:B0:EE:5F:1A:AC:EF:D6:A1:EB:55:CB:D3:6F:84:E1:48:34
If something goes wrong
- "App not installed": you probably have an older copy that was signed differently. Uninstall it, then install again.
- Another antivirus app calls Tuckbird "suspicious": some antivirus apps flag any app that saves videos from websites or installs its own updates. Check that the file's SHA-256 and signing certificate match the values above; we report these warnings to the antivirus maker as false positives.
- Can't install during a phone call: newer Android versions block installs during calls with unknown numbers. Hang up and try again.
- A link doesn't work: private posts, stories and login-only posts can't be saved. If a public post fails, tap Check for updates in Tuckbird, because the sites change often.
- Nothing reaches the watch: open WristReel on the phone and check that its watch app is installed (one purchase covers both). Then tap Send to watch in Tuckbird.