Phantom Recorder documentation

1. 1Download Phantom-Recorder-<version>.zip from our Discord (the link is on the tool page).
2. 2Unzip it anywhere, for example into Documents\Phantom Recorder, and start the program. There's no installer and no Python to set up — ffmpeg is bundled.
3. 3Open Settings and choose Where files go on the General tab. Everything you record or fetch is saved there.
4. 4In Watch, click + Add a person and type their usernames on the card — one field per service.
5. 5Turn on LIVE, STORY and/or POSTS for the accounts you want watched. Phantom Recorder now checks them in the background.

The window has four parts that never change: the bar across the top, the sidebar on the left, the section you're in, and the status bar at the bottom.

The top bar

Search box

“a name, a link, or what you are looking for”. Type a person's name to jump to their card, or paste a profile or post link. Ctrl+K puts the cursor there.

WatchGetKept

The three sections. The highlighted one is where you are.

Guide

Opens this documentation in your browser.

Settings

Opens the settings dialog.

Discord

Opens our Discord server — for new versions, help and feedback.

The sidebar

Name and version

Top left, e.g. Recorder · 2.6.2. With VIP a chip under it reads VIP · 23 days left.

MESSENGERS

Snapchat and Telegram, each in a window of its own where you sign in — see Snapchat and Telegram.

COMMUNITY

Chat opens the chat between everyone who uses the program. A badge on it shows unread messages.

Sign-ins

One entry per platform that needs a sign-in, with its state. Pick one to sign in or to see who is signed in.

Activity log

Everything the program did, newest last.

Updates

Looks for a new version right now — details.

Around the window

System tray

Closing or minimising the window puts Phantom Recorder in the tray, where watching keeps running. Quit in the tray menu stops it completely; Lock now locks it if you use the app lock.

Status bar

Left: the latest event with its time, e.g. 22:14 @nasa is live – recording at 1080p. Right: how many accounts are watched, how many recordings are running, and the folder files go to.

Polls

Now and then a short poll appears when the program starts. Pick an answer and press Send answer; it doesn't ask again after that.

Watch is the home screen. Every person you follow has one card, and each card holds their usernames on all supported services: TikTok, Instagram, OnlyFans, Fansly, X, Snapchat, YouTube.

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1. 1Name and versionThe version you're running. With VIP, a chip under the name shows how many days are left.
2. 2Watch · Get · KeptThe three sections. The highlighted one is where you are.
3. 3Search boxType a name to jump to a person, or paste a profile or post link. Ctrl+K puts the cursor here.
4. 4Guide · Settings · DiscordThis documentation, the settings dialog and our Discord server.
5. 5MessengersSnapchat and Telegram, each in a window of its own.
6. 6ChatThe chat between everyone who uses the program. A badge shows unread messages.
7. 7Sign-ins · Activity log · UpdatesYour platform sign-ins, everything the program did, and a check for a new version.
8. 8OverviewHow many people you have and how many things are watched across services.
9. 9Pause allPauses the story watchers for everyone. Live recording keeps running.
10. 10+ Add a personCreates a new card. Name it, then fill in the usernames you know.
11. 11Look nowChecks every watched account right away.
12. 12Status lineRecording, New, Quiet or Cannot see — with details like resolution, duration and size.
13. 13Card menuMerge into another person, or remove this one.
14. 14QualityShown when LIVE is on. Click it to pick the recording quality, e.g. Original.
15. 15LIVE · STORY · POSTSRecord lives, save new stories and download new posts for this account. A dash means it doesn't apply.
16. 16+ another accountAdds up to five more accounts of this service for the person; × takes one off again.
17. 17Card actionsOpen folder, Fetch posts, and Stop recording while a live is running.
18. 18Latest eventThe most recent thing that happened, with its time.
19. 19Totals and save folderAccounts watched, recordings running and where files go.

4 people · 12 thing(s) watched across 7 services

How many cards you have and how many account/feature switches are turned on in total.

Pause all

Pauses story watching for everyone at once, without changing the switches on any card. Lives are still recorded — switch LIVE off on the card to stop that.

+ Add a person

Creates a new, empty card. Give it a name, then fill in the usernames you know.

Look now

Checks every watched account immediately instead of waiting for the next automatic check.

A card is everything Phantom Recorder knows about one person. From top to bottom:

Name

The person's display name, also used in Kept. The ··· button next to it opens the card's menu: Merge into moves this person, with all their accounts, onto another card; Remove this person deletes the card.

Status line

What's happening right now — see all status messages. While recording it shows resolution, duration and size, e.g. 1080p · 21 min · 412 MB.

– kept

How many files you have saved for this person (a dash means none yet).

4 of 7 services named · 2 watched

How many services have a username filled in, and how many of those have a switch on.

Service row

The dot is in the service's colour when a username is set and grey when it isn't. Empty fields read type a name; leave them empty if the person doesn't use that service.

+×

+ beside a username adds another account of that service — a backup or second profile — as a row of its own, up to five more. × takes one off again. Each has its own switches and quality.

QUALITY · Original

Appears beside an account with LIVE on. Click it to pick the recording quality; Original (best) keeps the highest quality the stream offers.

LIVE switch

Watch this account for livestreams and record them automatically when one starts.

STORY switch

Save new story items from this account as they appear.

POSTS switch

Download new posts by themselves — for TikTok, Instagram, X, OnlyFans and Fansly, checked about every 6 hours. They go into the same Posts folder as Get, and nothing is downloaded twice.

– (dash)

That switch doesn't apply to this service, or no username is set yet.

At the bottom of each card:

Open folder

Opens this person's folder in Explorer.

Fetch posts

Jumps to Get with this person selected.

Stop recording

Only visible while a live is being recorded. Ends the recording and finalises the file right away.

Get fetches what's available from a person's accounts — posts, stories, highlights, chat media and the profile picture — and shows it in one grid, whatever service it came from.

1234567891011

1. 1PersonWhose accounts you're fetching from.
2. 2What to fetchPosts, Stories, Highlights, Chat media or the profile Picture.
3. 3Result summaryHow many items, from how many services, and their total size.
4. 4Type and time filtersEverything, only images or only videos — and a time range.
5. 5New onlyHide what you've already saved.
6. 6PagesPage through results and set how many tiles a page shows.
7. 7Tile sizeS, M, L or XL previews.
8. 8Service chipsA number means fetched; get means ready to fetch; no name means no username on the card; by link means paste a link.
9. 9Fetch up toThe most items to request in one fetch. Raise it to go further back.
10. 10Tile badgesimage or video, and pinned for posts pinned to the profile.
11. 11Tile detailsDate, resolution and file size. Click a tile to tick it for download, double-click to open the viewer.

First row: who and what

Person

The card you're fetching for. Pick another person from the list.

PostsStoriesHighlightsChatPicture

What to fetch. Chat is your own inbox on OnlyFans and Fansly; Picture is the full-size profile picture. Not every service has every kind — see Platforms.

12 item(s) from 2 service(s) · 24.9 MB

What the current view contains and its total size.

Second row: filter and layout

Everything

Filter by media type: everything, only images, or only videos.

Any time

Limit results to a time range.

New only

Hide items you've already saved, so you only see what's new since last time.

page 1 of 1 · show per page

Page through large results and set how many tiles a page shows.

SMLXL

Tile size.

Third row: services

Each service has a chip. Its label tells you its state:

TikTok 8

Fetched — 8 items came from this service. Click the chip to show or hide them.

X get

A username is set but nothing has been fetched yet. Click to fetch.

OnlyFans no name

No username on the card for this service.

YouTube by link

YouTube has no profile walk — paste a link into the search box instead (how). Facebook (how) and Twitch (how) work the same way.

Fansly n/a

This service doesn't have the kind you picked — e.g. Fansly has no stories. See Platforms for what each one offers.

fetch up to 24

The maximum number of items to request per service in one fetch. Raise it to go further back.

Tiles

Each tile shows the type (image or video), a pinned label for posts pinned to the profile, the date, the resolution and the file size. The coloured dot marks the service. Previews appear as soon as they arrive, so you can start browsing while a large fetch is still running.

Downloading

Nothing is downloaded until you say so. Click a tile to tick it, double-click it to open the media viewer — that is also where an item with several versions lets you pick one.

Select all

Ticks everything the current filters show.

Download selected

Saves the ticked items to their folder. The count in the button tells you how many.

Retry failed

Appears when something didn't come through — tries those items again.

Clear

Unticks everything.

locked / DRM

Can't be ticked: the service serves no file for it. On OnlyFans that means content you haven't subscribed to or bought.

Click to enlarge

The viewer opens on top of Get or KeptClose

Title and size

The item's name and resolution, top left.

‹ ›

Previous and next item in the current list, bottom left and bottom right.

1 of 12

Where you are in the list.

1080x1920

The version picker: every rendition the service offers, named by its real size. The best one is chosen for you.

×

Closes the viewer and returns to the grid.

Kept is your library: every file you've saved, newest first, grouped by day.

Click to enlarge

Kept — saved files grouped by dayClose

everybody

Show everyone's files, or pick one person.

Service chips

Show or hide files from TikTok, Instagram, OnlyFans, Fansly, X, Snapchat, YouTube. Each chip is outlined in its service colour.

Search

Search by person, service or file name.

10 file(s) · 107.9 KB

Count and size of what the filters currently show.

Refresh

Re-reads your save folder — use it after moving or deleting files outside the app.

Export CSV

Saves the current list as a CSV file you can open in Excel or other tools.

Remove missing

Appears when files have gone from disk. Takes their entries out of the list; it never touches a file.

Day headings

e.g. TODAY 10 files · 107.9 KB — each day with its file count and size.

Tiles

The person's name, the service and type (e.g. TikTok post, Instagram story) and the time it was saved. A ▸ badge marks videos.

Tidying up

Click a tile

Ticks it. A bar appears at the bottom with the count and size, Clear selection and Delete selected, which sends the ticked files to the Recycle Bin after one question.

Delete file (to Recycle Bin)

Right-click: sends this file to the Recycle Bin, so a wrong click can still be undone there.

Remove from the archive

Right-click: takes the entry out of the list and leaves the file where it is.

Fetch more from <person>

Right-click: opens Get for that person.

Click to enlarge

Settings — the General tabClose

Settings has five tabs. Changes apply when you click Save; Cancel drops them.

General

Where files go · Choose …

The folder all recordings and downloads are saved to. It's also shown in the status bar.

A folder per account

On: each account gets its own subfolder. Off: files for a person share one folder.

Proxy

Optional, as http://host:port or socks5://host:port. Everything the program asks the platforms goes through it — checks, recordings, downloads and the background browser windows. A proxy with a user name and password works for all but the browser windows. Leave it empty to connect directly.

Tools

Path to your own ffmpeg.exe. Leave it empty to use the bundled one — you only need this if you want a specific ffmpeg build.

Account

Account …

An optional account: a username and a password, no e-mail address. Signing in with it on a new PC brings back your lists, your settings and your chat name. It's also what lets you change your chat name.

Notifications

Play a sound for

A new private message · A new message in the group chat or a room · A download has been saved. Each sound has its own switch.

Notify when something is saved

Shows a Windows notification for each new file.

Check intervals

One field per check

How often TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Twitch lives, the TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat stories and new posts are looked for. Checking more often finds things sooner — and is what gets an account throttled or signed out, so faster-than-recommended values are marked and Save asks once more.

Recommended values

Puts every field back to the value that has held up.

Program

Start with Windows

Starts Phantom Recorder when you sign in to Windows.

Check for updates at startup

Quietly checks for a new version when the app starts — details.

App lock

A PIN of 4 to 12 digits in front of the window. It's asked at start and when the window comes back from the tray. Lock by itself locks it after a while without use; Ctrl+L or Lock now in the tray menu locks at once. Recording and downloads go on behind it. It guards the window — the files in your folder are not encrypted.

Every service works a little differently. Below: what you can get from each one, what it needs from you, and the exact steps to download it. Two routes run through most of them — Watch saves lives, new stories and new posts on its own, Get fetches on demand. A few things come in by link instead of by username: paste the link into the search box at the top, or press Ctrl+V anywhere in the window. Snapchat chats and Telegram open in windows of their own, from the sidebar.

• TikTok
• Instagram
• OnlyFans
• Fansly
• X
• Snapchat
• Telegram
• Facebook
• Twitch
• YouTube

Snapchat#

You can get: The public story, spotlight posts and saved highlights — plus the saved media of a chat and single snaps.

From a public profile — no sign-in needed

1. 1Put the Snapchat name on the person's card.
2. 2In Get, choose Stories for the story running right now, Posts for spotlight posts or Highlights for saved highlights.
3. 3Press the Snapchat chip, tick the tiles and press Download selected.

Switching on STORY watches the public story on its own, every 30 to 90 minutes. Spotlight posts and highlights aren't watched — they don't expire, so there is nothing to catch in time.

From a chat — with Snapchat in the sidebar

Snapchat sits in the sidebar under MESSENGERS. It asks what you want and opens Snapchat in a window of its own; that is where you sign in the first time.

Click to enlarge

Snapchat in the sidebar asks what you wantClose

1. 1Click Snapchat on the left and pick Fetch saved media. The Snapchat window opens.
2. 2The first time, sign in to Snapchat inside that window.
3. 3If a chat is already open there, that chat is walked. If not, click the chat you want — the first one you click is fetched. Phantom Recorder waits up to about ten minutes for it, so there is no second press.
4. 4What's saved in the chat shows up as tiles in Get. Tick them and press Download selected.

Save single snaps as you open them

1. 1Click Snapchat on the left and pick Open to save snaps.
2. 2In the Snapchat window, open a snap.
3. 3Press Save snap in that window to file it. No chat is scraped — only what you open and save.

Still possible: by link

Open the chat on Snapchat in your own browser, copy the address — it looks like www.snapchat.com/web/<id> — and paste it into the search box at the top, or press Ctrl+V in the window. You get the same two choices, for that chat.

The Snapchat window uses a separate browser profile, so your normal browser stays untouched and being signed in there doesn't count — sign in once inside the window. It is kept open on purpose, so you only do that once. A long chat takes a few minutes to walk. Snaps that say “open in the mobile app” never load in a browser, so there is nothing to save for those. Snaps filed with Save snap land in a Snapchat\Snap folder rather than under the person.

Chat in the sidebar, under COMMUNITY, opens the chat between everyone who uses Phantom Recorder. It is a window of its own, so it can stay open beside a fetch or a recording. A badge on the Chat row shows how many messages you haven't read, and new messages play a short sound — you can switch each sound off under Settings → Notifications.

Click to enlarge

The chat window — conversations on the left, messages on the rightClose

The first time: pick your name

1. 1Click Chat on the left. The program also asks at start as long as you have no name yet.
2. 2Type the name you want to go by: 2 to 24 letters, digits, spaces, dots, dashes or underscores.
3. 3If somebody brought you here, type their chat name under Did somebody bring you here? and pick them from the list — they get 200 points as a thank-you. It's optional and can only be said at this moment.
4. 4Press Join the chat.

Where you can talk

The list on the left holds the conversations that are going; the buttons under it start new ones.

✉ Contact admin

Always the first line: writes privately to the Phantom Tools team, for questions and help.

# Group chat

Everyone.

People

Everyone who has joined the chat, with a search field. Click a name and a private chat with that person opens. It then stays in the list under PRIVATE — and so does anyone who writes to you.

Close chat

Takes a private chat off your list (also by right-clicking the name). Nothing is deleted; it is back when either of you writes again.

New room

Opens a room for a limited time: 15 minutes up to 24 hours. Give it a name and, if you like, a password of four characters or more. You can have three rooms open at a time.

🔒 room name

A room with a password. It asks for it once when you enter.

Close room

For the person who opened the room: ends it now.

● · ○

Online and offline, in front of a name.

(2)

Unread messages in that conversation.

Messages

Write a message ...

Type and press Enter or Send. One line, up to 4000 characters.

Plain text

A message is always shown exactly as typed. Links aren't clickable and nothing is formatted — nobody can dress a link up as something else.

React

Puts one of ten emotes on a message: 👍 ❤️ 😂 😮 😢 🔥 👀 🎉 💦 🍆. Click an emote under a message to add yours, click it again to take it back.

Delete

On your own messages: removes it for everyone. It simply disappears, with no line left behind.

Report

On other people's messages: reports it; you can say what is wrong with it. To report a single picture or video, right-click it.

Timer: off

In the head of a private chat: makes new messages there disappear after 1 hour, 24 hours or 7 days. Either of you can set it, and both see it.

Load older messages

At the top of a conversation, when there is more history.

Pictures and videos

1. 1Press + Media and pick up to four pictures or videos (eight with VIP).
2. 2They are listed above the text field. Esc removes them again.
3. 3Add text if you like and press Send. The line under the field shows the progress.

Converted first

Before sending, pictures become WebP and videos WebM on your PC, videos scaled down to 1280 px on the long side. That keeps uploads small and quick.

Limits

Four files per message (eight with VIP), 40 MB per file after converting, pictures and videos only. There is also a daily limit for media.

Opening

A preview shows the whole picture. Click it and the file is downloaded and opened in whatever Windows uses for that type. A second click opens it at once.

Media

At the top right of a conversation: every picture and video sent in it, newest first.

Not in Kept

Chat media isn't added to your library. To keep a file, save it from the program it opened in.

Profile cards, points and ranking

Profile card

Click a name to open that member's card: their picture, a short description, their title, since when they're here, points earned, people brought, their place in the ranking and the badges they have reached. On your own card you add a picture and a description.

Points

You earn one point for every hour the program is open, and 200 for each person you bring. The button with your name at the top left shows your points and opens the shop: a colour, a frame, an effect and a title for your name. What you buy is yours to keep, and everyone sees your name that way.

Titles and badges

A title is a few words beside your name — some are bought with points, others are earned. Badges are the small symbols next to a name and are never for sale.

Ranking

The first ten by points earned and by people brought, and your own place on each. First place wears a crown.

VIP

VIP comes with a donation — ask in support on our Discord. With it you can write as Anonymous in the group chat and in rooms, use Decorate card to give your profile card a look, enter the VIP room, and send eight pictures or videos per message instead of four. While it runs, a VIP · 23 days left chip sits under the app name.

If the chat says …

“The chat is switched off at the moment.”

We have turned the chat off for now. Try again later.

“The chat server could not be reached.”

A connection problem. The chat keeps trying and the line clears itself when it is back.

“You do not have enough points for that yet.”

Points come with every hour the program is open — try again later.

Updates

• With Check for updates at startup on (Settings → Program), the app checks quietly when it starts. You can also check any time with Updates at the bottom of the sidebar. If there's no answer, the app simply starts normally.
• Most updates are optional: Install now or Later. You confirm before anything is installed, and you see the download progress.
• Some important updates are required. Then the dialog says Update required, and the program carries on once it's installed.
• Every release is signed and its SHA-256 checksum is checked, and updates only travel over HTTPS. Modified or corrupted packages are rejected.
• The previous version is backed up during the swap. If the new version doesn't start correctly, the old one is restored and relaunched automatically.

Backups

• Your people, settings and history are stored in %APPDATA%.
• Rotating backups are written to your Documents folder.
• If the data folder is deleted or cleaned up, the newest backup from your Documents folder is restored automatically the next time you start the app.
• Moving to a new PC? Sign in with your optional account under Settings → Account there, and your lists, settings and chat name come back.

The line under a person's name tells you what's happening, with a coloured marker:

Recording

A live is being recorded. Shows resolution, duration and file size so far.

New

New items were found and saved, e.g. 3 new story item(s).

Quiet

Everything is being watched; nothing new right now.

Cannot see

An account couldn't be checked, with the reason, e.g. Instagram is throttling this account. The app keeps trying on its own.

“Cannot see — … is throttling this account”

The service is limiting requests for that account. Wait — checks continue automatically. If it keeps happening, set a proxy under Settings → General → Proxy (http or socks5) and raise the values under Settings → Check intervals.

A live wasn't recorded

Check that LIVE is on for that account and that the app was running — closing the window keeps it in the tray, Quit stops it. Pause all only pauses story watching.

OnlyFans shows nothing

Sign in again under Sign-ins → OnlyFans, in the window Phantom Recorder opens. Only content your account can open is fetched.

Files are missing in Kept

Click Refresh. Check Where files go in Settings — Kept only reads that folder.

My people and settings are gone

Restart the app: the newest backup from your Documents folder is restored automatically.

I forgot my app-lock PIN

Click Forgot your PIN? on the lock screen — it says how to remove the lock.

Still stuck?

Ask in our Discord or write via Contact admin in the chat, and include your version number (top left, under the app name).