Previously stored indefinitely, live videos posted to Facebook will now be kept for only 30 days. Learn how to avoid losing your Facebook Lives.
Meta announced on February 19, 2025, that “new live streams” will be deleted from Facebook after 30 days. This decision is aimed at reducing storage costs, as the majority of views on live videos occur within the first few weeks of their broadcast. Therefore, users wishing to keep their live videos will have to download them before this period.
Facebook will only keep live videos for 30 days
Until now, Facebook live streams remained accessible indefinitely on the platform, unless the user manually deleted them. But starting February 19, 2025, Meta is implementing a major change: all new live videos will be automatically deleted after 30 days. This decision aims to reduce storage costs associated with this content, which, according to Meta, is rarely accessed beyond the first month after its broadcast.
Since most live videos are viewed within the first few weeks of streaming, we are updating the retention period for live videos on Facebook, Meta explained.
This change particularly impacts creators, businesses, and media outlets that use Facebook Live to engage with their audiences. From now on, those who wish to keep their videos will have to download them before they are automatically deleted. Previous broadcasts recorded before this date are not affected by this measure, but for future live broadcasts, you will need to plan ahead to save them if you want to reuse or archive them.
As part of this transition, all live videos older than 30 days will be deleted and you will no longer be able to access them. The deletion process will occur in waves over the coming months.
How to keep your Facebook lives
To avoid losing your live videos, it’s essential to download them before they’re automatically deleted. To do this, Facebook announced that it has launched “multiple download tools to help you keep your videos indefinitely .” Here’s how to do a one-time download (see cover image):
- Go to your profile or page,
- Tap the three-dot menu to access your Activity History,
- Select the video tab, choose the video you want to download,
- Tap the three-dot menu next to the relevant video again and choose Download.
Here are the steps to follow for a mass download:
- You will be notified to download videos that are about to expire,
- Tap the notification, then tap the Download Live Videos or Upload Live Videos button,
- Choose which videos you want to download by selecting the relevant dates,
- Finally, click Create File or Save.
