Facebook has announced plans to start deleting live videos after 30 days of their initial streaming date.
In a statement, Meta, Facebook’s parent company said the move aims to align Facebook’s storage policies with industry standards and optimize server space.
The platform added that the changes expected to take effect this month will affect both new and existing live videos.
To prevent data loss, Facebook advised creators to download their videos, delete or convert them into reels before the end of the 30 days.
“Starting from February 2025, live broadcasts will be kept on your Facebook Page or profile for 30 days after they’ve been published, during which, you can share replays or clips as reels, delete or download the videos,” read the statement in part.
“After 30 days, you’ll no longer be able to access your broadcast and it’ll be automatically removed from your Page or profile and deleted from Meta servers,” it added.
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Users will be notified of the changes through their registered email address before the videos are deleted. Upon receiving a notification, they will have 90 days to download or transfer their content.
“If you need more time, you can postpone the deletion for six months. Note: You’ll only be able to postpone the deletion of your live videos once. After six months, your past live videos will be deleted.
“Live videos from memorialised accounts are not subject to this policy. Once an account has been memorialised, the content that the person shared will remain on Facebook and will be visible to the audience with whom it was shared,” Meta added.
How to download live videos
- Download videos: Access your profile’s “Videos” tab, select the desired video, view it in full screen, and choose “Download video” from the menu.
- Bulk download: For multiple videos, navigate to “Your live videos” in your Activity Log, select the videos and request a bulk download within a specified date range.
- Transfer to cloud services: Facebook offers tools to transfer videos directly to cloud platforms like Dropbox or Google Drive.
- Convert to reels: Share segments of your live videos as Reels, keeping in mind the 90-second duration limit.
