Facebook has announced a change in its policy on live video storage. Now, live videos will no longer be stored indefinitely on the platform, as they will automatically be deleted 30 days after being posted. This is a major shift from the previous policy where live videos were saved permanently unless manually deleted by the user.
Speaking of the impact on the existing ones, any live video that’s already older than 30 days will be removed from Facebook. However, Facebook will notify the users (via email and in-app pop-ups) before deleting these older videos. These old live broadcasts on the platform will be deleted gradually over the next few months.
Users will also have 90 days to download or transfer their older content. They can either ‘Download’ the videos to their devices or ‘Transfer’ them to cloud storage, such as Google Drive or Dropbox. Interestingly, there is another option – to convert their live videos into a new reel. These Reels can be shared on Facebook and will remain visible on a user’s profile.
Talking in detail, Meta is introducing new tools to help users save live videos they previously shared on their profiles or Pages. Users can download individual live videos by going to the ‘Videos’ or ‘Live’ tab on their profile or Page, selecting the desired video, and choosing the ‘Download video’ option. Additionally, users can download multiple videos at once through the ‘Activity Log’ or use the bulk download feature to select a date range and save videos directly to their device or computer.
“Beginning on February 19th, any new live broadcast videos can be replayed, downloaded or shared from your Facebook Pages or profiles for 30 days, after which they will automatically be removed from Facebook. Previously these videos were stored indefinitely,” the social media company stated in a blog post.
Many experts believe that Meta wants to boost its short video business as TikTok (a major player in the sector) is still struggling in one of its main markets, which is the United States. This shift encourages users to engage more with short-form content rather than long-form live streams.
The development becomes more significant as Meta-owned Facebook has 3.07 billion monthly active users (MAU) as of 2025. The immensely popular platform has 2.11 billion daily active users (DAU), representing 68.73% of its monthly active user base.
