Facebook Live Video Storage Policy Update

If you’ve used Facebook Live Video to connect with your audience, share your expertise, or host virtual events, an important update from Meta (Facebook’s parent company) means you’ll need to take immediate action. As of 19 February 2025, Facebook has begun rolling out a new storage policy for live videos — and it could affect any content you’ve broadcasted on the platform.

For Page owners, marketers, creators, and anyone who has leveraged Facebook Live in the past, this change introduces a strict 30-day retention window for all live broadcasts. After this period, your videos will no longer be accessible and will be permanently deleted from Facebook’s servers.

This blog post outlines what’s changing, why it matters, and exactly how you can download your old Facebook Live videos before they’re gone for good.

What’s Changing with Facebook Live Video Storage?

According to Meta’s official help documentation, Facebook will no longer store live video content indefinitely. Starting from 19 February 2025, any new Facebook Live videos will only be stored for 30 days. During this time, you’ll be able to view, delete, or download your videos. However, after the 30-day mark, these videos will be automatically removed from your Page or profile and deleted from Facebook’s servers entirely.

This change represents a significant shift from Facebook’s previous policy, which stored live videos indefinitely unless you chose to delete them yourself. Now, unless you manually download your videos, they’ll vanish — taking your content, engagement history, and potential repurposing opportunities with them.

For businesses that frequently leverage live video content to engage with their community and share educational insights, this update could mean losing a valuable archive of past events, webinars, and live Q&A sessions.

What Happens to Older Facebook Live Videos?

To help Page owners adjust to this new policy, Facebook is offering a temporary grace period for older live videos. Specifically, any Facebook Live videos published before 19 February 2025 will remain available for download until 6 July 2025. After this date, any remaining videos from before the policy change will be permanently deleted.

This gives Page administrators and creators a few more months to review their content archives and save any important videos. However, time is limited — and July will be here before we know it.

If you’ve ever gone live on your Facebook Page or profile, it’s highly recommended that you start reviewing and downloading your older videos as soon as possible. This is especially true for brands that repurpose their live content for YouTube, Instagram, training libraries, or podcast material.

Why This Matters to Marketers, Creators, and Community Leaders

Facebook Live has become a key tool for businesses and individuals looking to build deeper relationships with their audiences. From product launches and interviews to behind-the-scenes looks and educational webinars, live video has proven to be a powerful format for authentic engagement.

But with this new change, that content could be lost forever unless steps are taken to preserve it.

The implications extend beyond just losing videos. For many brands, Facebook Live serves as part of a larger content strategy. Past lives can be repurposed into short clips, turned into blog posts, or used as part of an evergreen content funnel. Losing that archive means losing the ability to easily reuse or reference that material.

This update also changes how Facebook Live fits into long-term planning. Creators will now need to think more like broadcasters: recording and backing up every live session to maintain a full record of their work.

How to Download Your Old Facebook Live Videos

To help you avoid losing important content, here’s a step-by-step guide on how to download your old Facebook Live videos directly from your Page or profile.

For Facebook Pages (using the Meta Business Suite or Classic Page view):

1. Go to your Facebook Page.
   Navigate to the Facebook Page that hosted the Live videos.
2. Open the ‘Meta Business Suite’ or go to your Page’s Video Library.
   In Meta Business Suite, click on Content, then Videos. If you’re using the Classic Page view, go to Publishing Tools, then choose Videos or Video Library.
3. Locate your live videos.
   Look for videos that were marked as “Live” or that you know were originally streamed live.
4. Click on the video you want to download.
   A preview window will open where you can see engagement metrics, comments, and playback.
5. Click the three-dot menu (•••).
   In the top-right corner of the video player, click the three dots for more options.
6. Select “Download video.”
   The video will begin downloading to your computer in MP4 format. Save it somewhere secure, such as an external hard drive or cloud storage platform.
7. Repeat for each video you wish to preserve.

For Personal Profiles (if you went live from your personal Facebook account):

1. Go to your profile.
   Navigate to your personal timeline.
2. Click on the ‘Videos’ tab or ‘More’ > ‘Videos’.
3. Scroll to find your past Live videos.
   They will be mixed in with any other uploaded videos.
4. Click on the video to open it.
5. Click the three-dot menu (•••) in the top right.
6. Select “Download Video.”
   Again, the video will be saved to your device in MP4 format.

Best Practices for Managing Your Video Content Moving Forward

Now that Facebook Live content will only be stored for 30 days, it’s important to develop a consistent workflow for backing up your video content moving forward. Here are a few tips:

• Download each live video immediately after the broadcast. Make it a habit to download and store the file within the 30-day window.
• Use cloud-based storage. Platforms like Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive are great for organising and archiving content.
• Label and tag your files clearly. Include dates, topics, and any relevant keywords so you can find videos easily later on.
• Repurpose your content. Don’t let your videos gather digital dust. Cut them into clips, turn them into blog posts, or include them in newsletters.

Facebook’s decision to limit the storage of Live videos to just 30 days is a major change that will affect how creators and businesses use the platform moving forward. While the move may help Facebook manage its vast content storage infrastructure, it places the responsibility on users to take action if they want to keep their video archives intact.

The key message here is don’t wait. If your Page has a rich library of past Facebook Live videos, now is the time to take stock, review your content, and download anything worth keeping. The 6 July 2025 deadline is firm, and after that, there’s no way to retrieve those older videos.

For more details or assistance, visit Facebook’s official Help Centre.

If you’d like help managing or archiving your live content, or need guidance on using video effectively in your digital marketing strategy, feel free to reach out. We’re always here to help creators and brands make the most of their online presence.

By Manesh Ram, Digital Marketing Specialist. Please follow @maneshram & Meta