Apple didn’t simply “break” the shortcuts out of malice; they closed a critical security loophole. According to Apple’s official Security Content documentation for iOS 18.1, released on October 28, 2024, a specific vulnerability was patched:
It includes a direct "Save to Files" option for sites that have a native download button, which is the most reliable, unpatchable method in Safari. Current Working Workarounds (2024–2026) safari download video shortcut patched